Mutant Endoglycoceramidases With Enhanced Synthetic Activity

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a novel endoglycoceramidase whose hydrolytic activity has been substantially reduced or eliminated, such that the enzyme is useful for synthesis of glycolipids from a monosaccharide or oligosaccharide and a ceramide. More specifically, the endoglycoceramidase is a mutant version of a naturally occurring endoglycoceramidase, preferably comprising a mutation within the active site or the nucleophilic site of the enzyme and more preferably comprising a substitution mutation of the Glu residue within the active site or the nucleophilic site. Also disclosed are a method for generating the mutant endoglycoceramidase and a method for enzymatically synthesizing glycolipids using this mutant enzyme.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/576,316, filed Jun. 1, 2004; U.S. Provisional Application 60/626,791, filed Nov. 10, 2004; and U.S. Provisional 60/666,765, filed Mar. 29, 2005, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

REFERENCE TO THE SEQUENCE LISTING

SEQ ID NO:1: nucleic acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Rhodococcus sp. M-777. GenBank Accession No. U39554.

SEQ ID NO:2: amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Rhodococcus sp. M-777. GenBank Accession No. AAB67050.

SEQ ID NO:3: nucleic acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Rhodococcus sp. C9. GenBank Accession No. AB042327.

SEQ ID NO:4: amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Rhodococcus sp. C9. GenBank Accession No. BAB17317.

SEQ ID NO:5: nucleic acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202. GenBank Accession No. gi50839098:2281629.

SEQ ID NO:6: amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202. GenBank Accession No. YP_(—)056771.

SEQ ID NO:7: nucleic acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202. GenBank Accession No. gi50839098:c709797-708223.

SEQ ID NO:8: amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202. GenBank Accession No. YP_(—)055358.

SEQ ID NO:9: nucleic acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Cyanea nozakii. GenBank Accession No. AB047321.

SEQ ID NO:10: amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Cyanea nozakii. GenBank Accession No. BAB16369.

SEQ ID NO:11: nucleic acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Cyanea nozakii. GenBank Accession No. AB047322.

SEQ ID NO:12: amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Cyanea nozakii. GenBank Accession No. BAB16370.

SEQ ID NO:13: nucleic acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Hydra magnipapillata. GenBank Accession No. AB179748.

SEQ ID NO:14: amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Hydra magnipapillata. GenBank Accession No. BAD20464.

SEQ ID NO:15: nucleic acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Schistosoma japonicum. GenBank Accession No. AY813337.

SEQ ID NO:16: amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Schistosoma japonicum. GenBank Accession No. AAW25069.

SEQ ID NO:17: amino acid sequence of a putative wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Dictyostelium discoideum. GenBank Accession No. EAL72387.

SEQ ID NO:18: amino acid sequence of a putative wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Streptomyces avermitilis str. MA-4680. GenBank Accession No. BAC75219.

SEQ ID NO:19: amino acid sequence of a putative wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni str. Fiocruz L1-130. GenBank Accession No. YP_(—)003582.

SEQ ID NO:20: amino acid sequence of a putative wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Neurospora crassa. GenBank Accession No. XP_(—)331009.

SEQ ID NO:21: amino acid sequence of mutant endoglycoceramidase A derived from AAB67050 (E233A).

SEQ ID NO:22: amino acid sequence of mutant endoglycoceramidase A derived from AAB67050 (E233S).

SEQ ID NO:23: amino acid sequence of mutant endoglycoceramidase A derived from AAB67050 (E233G).

SEQ ID NO:24: amino acid sequence of mutant endoglycoceramidase A derived from AAB67050 (E233D).

SEQ ID NO:25: amino acid sequence of mutant endoglycoceramidase A derived from AAB67050 (E233AQ).

SEQ ID NO:26: 5′ PCR primer: 5′Copt

SEQ ID NO:27: 3′ PCR primer: 3′ Asp PstI

SEQ ID NO:28: 3′ PCR primer: 3′Gln PstI

SEQ ID NO:29: 3′ PCR primer: 3′ Ala PstI-11-1

SEQ ID NO:30: 3′ PCR primer: 3′ Gly PstI-11-1

SEQ ID NO:31: 3′ PCR primer: 3′ Ser PstI-11-1

SEQ ID NO:32: Rhodococcus EGC-E351A-forward primer

SEQ ID NO:33: Rhodococcus EGC-E351A-reverse primer

SEQ ID NO:34: Rhodococcus EGC-E351D-forward primer

SEQ ID NO:35: Rhodococcus EGC-E351D-reverse primer

SEQ ID NO:36: Rhodococcus EGC-E351G-forward primer

SEQ ID NO:37: Rhodococcus EGC-E351G-reverse primer

SEQ ID NO:38: Rhodococcus EGC-E351S-forward primer

SEQ ID NO:39: Rhodococcus EGC-E351S-reverse primer

SEQ ID NO:40: nucleic acid sequence encoding mutant endoglycoceramidase His E351S, derived from GenBank Accession No. U39554.

SEQ ID NO:41: amino acid sequence encoding mutant endoglycoceramidase His E351S, derived from GenBank Accession No. AAB67050.

SEQ ID NO:42: Endoglycoceramidase identifying motif A.

SEQ ID NO:43: Endoglycoceramidase identifying motif B, including the acid-base sequence region.

SEQ ID NO:44: Endoglycoceramidase identifying motif C.

SEQ ID NO:45: Endoglycoceramidase identifying motif D, including the nucleophilic glutamic acid residue.

SEQ ID NO:46: Endoglycoceramidase identifying motif E, including nucleophilic carboxylate glutamic acid or aspartic acid residues.

SEQ ID NO:47: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Rhodococcus sp. M-777. GenBank Accession No. AAB67050. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:48: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Rhodococcus sp. C9. GenBank Accession No. BAB17317. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:49: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202. GenBank Accession No. YP_(—)056771. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:50: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202. GenBank Accession No. YP_(—)055358. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:51: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Cyanea nozakii. GenBank Accession No. BAB16369. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:52: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Cyanea nozakii. GenBank Accession No. BAB16370. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:53: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Hydra magnipapillata. GenBank Accession No. BAD20464. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:54: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Schistosoma japonicum. GenBank Accession No. AAW25069. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:55: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Dictyostelium discoideum. GenBank Accession No. EAL72387. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:56: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Streptomyces avermitilis str. MA-4680. GenBank Accession No. BAC75219. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:57: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni str. Fiocruz L1-130. GenBank Accession No. YP_(—)003582. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:58: amino acid sequence of a mutant endoglycoceramidase derived from Neurospora crassa. GenBank Accession No. XP_(—)331009. X=Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

SEQ ID NO:59: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Rhodococcus sp. M-777. GenBank Accession No. AAB67050.

SEQ ID NO:60: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Rhodococcus sp. C9. GenBank Accession No. BAB17317.

SEQ ID NO:61: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202. GenBank Accession No. YP_(—)056771.

SEQ ID NO:62: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202. GenBank Accession No. YP_(—)055358.

SEQ ID NO:63: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Cyanea nozakii. GenBank Accession No. BAB16369 and BAB16370.

SEQ ID NO:64: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Hydra magnipapillata. GenBank Accession No. BAD20464.

SEQ ID NO:65: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Schistosoma japonicum. GenBank Accession No. AAW25069.

SEQ ID NO:66: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Dictyostelium discoideum. GenBank Accession No. EAL72387.

SEQ ID NO:67: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Streptomyces avermitilis str. MA-4680. GenBank Accession No. BAC75219.

SEQ ID NO:68: predicted N-terminal signal sequence for wild-type endoglycoceramidase from Neurospora crassa. GenBank Accession No. XP_(—)331009.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of synthesis of saccharides, particularly those of use in preparing glycolipids, e.g., glycosphingolipids. More specifically, the invention relates to a novel approach for producing a mutant endoglycoceramidase, which has a synthetic activity that can be used to catalyze the formation of the glycosidic linkage between a monosaccharide or oligosaccharide and an aglycone to form various glycolipids.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Glycolipids, a group of amphipathic compounds that structurally consist of a sugar chain (monosaccharide or oligosaccharide) bound to an aglycone, are important cellular membrane components known to participate in various cellular events mediating physiological processes such as the cell-cell recognition, antigenicity, and cell growth regulation (Hakomori, Annu. Rev. Biochem., 50: 733-764, 1981; Makita and Taniguchi, Glycolipid (Wiegandt, ed.) pp 59-82, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., New York, 1985). Because there are no known enzymes that can universally transfer a saccharyl residue to a an aglycone (e.g., ceramide or sphingosine), synthesis of glycolipids usually requires a multi-step complex process that has the disadvantages of high cost and low yield.

Endoglycoceramidase (EC3.2.1.123), an enzyme first isolated from the Actinomycetes of Rhodococcus strain (Horibata, J. Biol. Chem. May 2004 10.1094/jbc.M401460200; Ito and Yamagata, J. Biol. Chem., 261: 14278-14282, 1986), hydrolyzes the glycoside linkage between the sugar chain and the ceramide in glycolipids to produce intact monosaccharide or oligosaccharide and ceramide. To this date, several more endoglycoceramidases have been isolated and characterized (see e.g., Li et al., Biochem. Biophy. Res. Comm., 149: 167-172, 1987; Ito and Yamagata, J. Biol. Chem., 264: 9510-9519, 1989; Zhou et al., J. Biol. Chem., 264: 12272-12277, 1989; Ashida et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 205: 729-735, 1992; Izu et al., J. Biol. Chem., 272: 19846-19850, 1997; Horibata et al., J. Biol. Chem., 275:31297-31304, 2000; Sakaguchi et al., J. Biochem., 128: 145-152, 2000; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,765). The active site of endoglycoceramidases has also been described by Sakaguchi et al., Biochem. Biophy. Res. Comm., 260: 89-93, 1999, as including a three amino acid segment of Asn-Glu-Pro, among which the Glu residue appears to be the most important to the enzymatic activity.

Endoglycoceramidases are also known to possess an additional transglycosylation activity, which is much weaker than the hydrolytic activity (Li et al., J. Biol. Chem., 266:10723-10726, 1991; Ashida et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophy., 305:559-562, 1993; Horibata et al., J. Biochem., 130:263-268, 2001). This transglycosylation activity has not yet been exploited to synthesize glycolipids, because the far more potent hydrolytic activity of the enzyme counteracts this synthetic activity by quickly hydrolyzing newly made glycolipid.

In view of the deficiencies of the current methods for chemically synthesizing glycosphigolipids, a method that relies on the substrate specificity of a synthetic endoglycoceramidase would represent a significant advance in the field of saccharide (glycolipid) synthesis. The present invention provides such a synthetic endoglycoceramidase (“endoglycoceramide synthase”) and methods for using this new enzyme.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides mutant endoglycoceramidase enzymes that have synthetic activity, assembling a saccharide and an aglycone, e.g., a ceramide or sphingosine, to form a glycolipid or a component thereof. The enzymes of the invention exploit the exquisite selectivity of enzymatic reactions to simplify the synthesis of glycolipids.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a mutant endoglycoceramidase having a modified nucleophilic carboxylate (i.e., Glu or Asp) residue, wherein the nucleophilic carboxylate residue resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:46 or motif E), or conservative variants thereof, of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, wherein the mutant endoglycoceramidase catalyzes the transfer of a saccharide moiety from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate (e.g., an aglycone). Typically, the Glu/Asp residue is substituted with an amino acid residue other than a Glu/Asp residue, for example, a Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val. In certain embodiments, the mutant endoglycoceramidase comprises any one of an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:47-58.

In a related aspect, the invention provides a mutant endoglycoceramidase characterized in that

-   -   i) in its native form the endoglycoceramidase comprises an amino         acid sequence that is any one of SEQ ID NOs: 2 (Rhodococcus), 4         (Rhodococcus), 6 (Propionibacterium acnes), 8 (Propionibacterium         acnes), 10 (Cyanea nozakii), 12 (Cyanea nozakii), 14 (Hydra         magnipapillata), 16 (Schistosoma japonicum), 17 (Dictyostelium         discoideum), 18 (Streptomyces avermitilis), 19 (Leptospira         interrogans), and 20 (Neurospora crassa); and     -   ii) the nucleophilic carboxylate (i.e., Glu or Asp) residue         within a         (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe)         sequence (SEQ ID NO:46) of a corresponding wild-type         endoglycoceramidase is modified to an amino acid other than         Glu/Asp.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method for making a mutant endoglycoceramidase having enhanced synthetic activity in comparison to a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, the method comprising modifying the nucleophilic carboxylate (i.e., Glu or Asp) residue in a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, wherein the nucleophilic Glu/Asp resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:46) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.

In another aspect, the invention provides a method of synthesizing a glycolipid or an aglycone, the method comprising, contacting a donor substrate comprising a saccharide moiety and an acceptor substrate with a mutant endoglycoceramidase having a modified nucleophilic carboxylate residue (i.e., Glu or Asp), wherein the nucleophilic Glu/Asp resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:46 or motif E) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, under conditions wherein the endoglycoceramidase catalyzes the transfer of a saccharide moiety from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate, thereby producing the glycolipid or aglycone.

In a further aspect the invention provides expression vectors that comprise mutant endoglycoceramidase polynucleotide sequences; host cells that comprise the expression vectors, and methods of making the mutant endoglycoceramidase polypeptides described herein, by growing the host cells under conditions suitable for expression of the mutant endoglycoceramidase polypeptide.

Other objects, aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description that follows.

DEFINITIONS

A “glycolipid” is a covalent conjugate between a glycosyl moiety and a substrate for a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the invention, such as an aglycone. An exemplary “glycolipid” is a covalent conjugate, between a glycosyl moiety and an aglycone, formed by a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the invention. The term “glycolipid” encompasses all glycosphingolipids, which are a group of amphipathic compounds that structurally consist of a sugar chain moiety (monosaccharide, oligosaccharide, or derivatives thereof) and an aglycone (i.e., a ceramide, a sphingosine, or a sphingosine analog). This term encompasses both cerebrosides and gangliosides. In certain embodiments, a glycolipid is an aglycone (non-carbohydrate alcohol (OH) or (SH)) conjugated to a non-reducing sugar and a non-glycoside.

An “aglycone,” as referred to herein, is an acceptor substrate onto which a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the invention transfers glycosyl moiety from a glycosyl donor that is a substrate for said glycosyl donor. A glycosyl donor may be an activated or non-activated saccharide. An exemplary aglycone is a heteroalkyl moiety, which has the structure of, e.g., Formula Ia, Formula Ib or Formula II as shown below:

In Formula Ia and Formula Ib, the symbol Z represents OH, SH, or NR⁴R^(4′). R¹ and R² are members independently selected from NHR⁴, SR⁴, OR⁴, OCOR⁴, OC(O)NHR⁴, NHC(O)OR⁴, OS(O)₂OR⁴, C(O)R⁴, NHC(O)R⁴, detectable labels, and targeting moieties. The symbols R³, R⁴ and R^(4′), R⁵, R⁶ and R⁷ each are members independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl.

In Formula II, Z¹ is a member selected from O, S, and NR⁴; R¹ and R² are members independently selected from NHR⁴, SR⁴, OR⁴, OCOR⁴, OC(O)NHR⁴, NHC(O)OR⁴, OS(O)₂OR⁴, C(O)R⁴, NHC(O)R⁴, detectable labels, and targeting moieties. The symbols R³, R⁴, R⁵, R⁶ and R⁷ each are members independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl. Formula II is representative of certain embodiments wherein the aglycone portion is conjugated to a further substrate component, for example, a leaving group or a solid support.

The following abbreviations are used herein:

-   -   Ara=arabinosyl;     -   Cer=ceramide     -   Fru=fructosyl;     -   Fuc=fucosyl;     -   Gal=galactosyl;     -   GalNAc=N-acetylgalactosaminyl;     -   Glc=glucosyl;     -   GlcNAc=N-acetylglucosaminyl;     -   Man=mannosyl; and     -   NeuAc=sialyl (N-acetylneuraminyl).

The term “sialic acid” or “sialic acid moiety” refers to any member of a family of nine-carbon carboxylated sugars. The most common member of the sialic acid family is N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (2-keto-5-acetamido-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-D-galactononulopyranos-1-onic acid (often abbreviated as Neu5Ac, NeuAc, or NANA). A second member of the family is N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc or NeuGc), in which the N-acetyl group of NeuAc is hydroxylated. A third sialic acid family member is 2-keto-3-deoxy-nonulosonic acid (KDN) (Nadano et al. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261: 11550-11557; Kanamori et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265: 21811-21819 (1990)). Also included are 9-substituted sialic acids such as a 9-O—C₁-C₆ acyl-Neu5Ac like 9-O-lactyl-Neu5Ac or 9-O-acetyl-Neu5Ac, 9-deoxy-9-fluoro-Neu5Ac and 9-azido-9-deoxy-Neu5Ac. For review of the sialic acid family, see, e.g., Varki, Glycobiology 2: 2540 (1992); Sialic Acids: Chemistry, Metabolism and Function, R. Schauer, Ed. (Springer-Verlag, New York (1992)). The synthesis and use of sialic acid compounds in a sialylation procedure is disclosed in international application WO 92/16640, published Oct. 1, 1992.

The term “ceramide,” as used herein, encompasses all ceramides and sphingosine as conventionally defined. See, for example, Berg, et al, Biochemistry, 2002, 5th ed., W.H. Freeman and Co.

The term “sphingosine analog” refers to lipid moieties that are chemically similar to sphingosine, but are modified at the polar head and/or the hydrophobic carbon chain. Sphingolipid analog moieties useful as acceptor substrates in the present methods include, but are not limited to, those described in co-pending patent applications PCT/US2004/006904 (which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/452,796); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/487,841; U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/485,892; 10/485,195, and 60/626,678, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

In general, the sphingosine analogs described in the above-referenced applications are those compounds having the formula:

wherein Z is a member selected from O, S, C(R²)₂ and NR²; X is a member selected from H, —OR³, —NR³R⁴, CR³, and —CHR³R⁴; R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ are members independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl, —C(=M)R⁵, —C(=M)-Z¹-R⁵, —SO₂R⁵, and —SO₃; wherein M and Z¹ are members independently selected from O, NR⁶ or S; Y is a member selected from H, —OR⁷, —SR⁷, —NR⁷R⁸, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, and substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl, wherein R⁵, R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ are members independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl; and R^(a), R^(b), R^(c) and R^(d) are each independently H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl.

An “acceptor substrate” for a wild-type endoglycoceramidase or a mutant endoglycoceramidase, is any aglycone moiety that can act as an acceptor for a particular endoglycoceramidase. When the acceptor substrate is contacted with the corresponding endoglycoceramidase and sugar donor substrate, and other necessary reaction mixture components, and the reaction mixture is incubated for a sufficient period of time, the endoglycoceramidase transfers sugar residues from the sugar donor substrate to the acceptor substrate. The acceptor substrate can vary for different types of a particular endoglycoceramidase. Accordingly, the term “acceptor substrate” is taken in context with the particular endoglycoceramidase or mutant endoglycoceramidase of interest for a particular application. Acceptor substrates for endoglycoceramidases and mutant endoglycoceramidases are described herein.

A “donor substrate” for wild-type and mutant endoglycoceramidases includes any activated glycosyl derivatives of anomeric configuration opposite the natural glycosidic linkage. The enzymes of the invention are used to couple α-modified or β-modified glycosyl donors, usually α-modified glycosyl donors, with glycoside acceptors. Preferred donor molecules are glycosyl fluorides, although donors with other groups which are reasonably small and which function as relatively good leaving groups can also be used. Examples of other glycosyl donor molecules include glycosyl chlorides, bromides, acetates, mesylates, propionates, pivaloates, and glycosyl molecules modified with substituted phenols. Among the α-modified or βmodified glycosyl donors, α-galactosyl, α-mannosyl, α-glucosyl, α-fucosyl, α-xylosyl, α-sialyl, α-N-acetylglucosaminyl, α-N-acetylgalactosaminyl, β-galactosyl, β-mannosyl, β-glucosyl, β-fucosyl, β-xylosyl, β-sialyl, β-N-acetylglucosaminyl and β-N-acetylgalactosaminyl are most preferred. The donor molecules can be monosaccharides, or may themselves contain multiple sugar moieties (oligosaccharides). Donor substrates of use in the particular methods include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,284,494; 6,204,029; 5,952,203; and 5,716,812, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

The term “contacting” is used herein interchangeably with the following: combined with, added to, mixed with, passed over, incubated with, flowed over, etc.

“Endoglycoceramidase,” as used herein, refers to an enzyme that in its native or wild-type version has a primary activity of cleaving the glycosidic linkage between a monosaccharide or an oligosaccharide and a ceramide (or sphingosine) of an acidic or neutral glycolipid, producing intact monosaccharide or oligosaccharide and ceramide (Registry number: EC 3.2.1.123). The wild-type version of this enzyme may also have a secondary activity of catalyzing the formation of the glycosidic linkage between a monosaccharide or oligosaccharide and an aglycone (i.e., a ceramide or a sphingosine) to form various glycolipids. Wild-type endoglycoceramidases have at least two identifiable conserved motifs, including an acid-base region (Val-X₁-(Ala/Gly)-(Tyr/Phe)-(Asp/Glu)-(Leu/Ile)-X₂-Asn-Glu-Pro-X₃-X₄-Gly or motif B or SEQ ID NO:43), and a nucleophilic region ((Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/r)-Glu-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe or motif D or SEQ ID NO:45).

The terms “mutated” or “modified” as used in the context of altering the structure or enzymatic activity of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase, refers to the deletion, insertion, or substitution of any nucleotide or amino acid residue, by chemical, enzymatic, or any other means, in a polynucleotide sequence encoding an endoglycoceramidase or the amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase, respectively, such that the amino acid sequence of the resulting endoglycoceramidase is altered at one or more amino acid residues. The site for such an activity-altering mutation may be located anywhere in the enzyme, including within the active site of the endoglycoceramidase, particularly involving the glutamic acid residue of the Asn-Glu-Pro subsequence of the acid-base sequence region. An artisan of ordinary skill will readily locate this Glu residue, for example, at position 233 in SEQ ID NO:2 and at position 224 in SEQ ID NO:4. Other examples of Glu residues that, once mutated, can alter the enzymatic activity of an endoglycoceramidase include a carboxylate (i.e., Glu or Asp) nucleophilic Glu/Asp residue (bolded) in the (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu/Asp-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) motif of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.

A “mutant endoglycoceramidase” or “modified endoglycoceramidase” of this invention thus comprises at least one mutated or modified amino acid residue. On the other hand, the wild-type endoglycoceramidase whose coding sequence is modified to generate a mutant endoglycoceramidase is referred to in this application as “the corresponding native or wild-type endoglycoceramidase.” One exemplary mutant endoglycoceramidase of the invention includes the deletion or substitution of a nucleophilic carboxylate Glu/Asp residue (bolded) in the (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu/Asp-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) motif of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. One exemplary mutant endoglycoceramidase of the invention includes a mutation within the active site, e.g., the deletion or substitution of the Glu residue within the Asn-Glu-Pro subsequence of the acid-base sequence region. The mutant endoglycoceramidase exhibits an altered enzymatic activity, e.g., an enhanced glycolipid synthetic activity, in comparison with its wild-type counterpart. A mutant endoglycoceramidase that has demonstrated an increased glycolipid synthetic activity is also called an “endoglycoceramide synthase.”

The term “acid-base sequence region” refers to a conserved Val-X₁-(Ala/Gly)-(Tyr/Phe)-(Asp/Glu)-(Leu/Ile)-X₂-Asn-Glu-Pro-X₃-X₄-Gly sequence (SEQ ID NO:43) in a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase which includes a conserved Asn-Glu-Pro subsequence. The acid-base glutamic acid residue is located within the conserved Asn-Glu-Pro subsequence, for example, at position 233 in Rhodococcus sp. M-777; position 224 in Rhodococcus sp. C9; position 229 in Propionibacterium acnes EGCa; position 248 in Propionibacterium acnes EGCb; position 238 in Cyanea nozakii; at position 229 in Hydra magnipapillata; at position 234 in Dictyostelium; at position 214 in Schistosoma; at position 241 in Leptospira interrogans; at position 272 of Streptomyces; and at position 247 of Neurosporassa (see, FIG. 15). The conserved sequence encoding a three-amino acid segment Asn-Glu-Pro was previously identified within the active site of endoglycoceramidases, and the Glu residue within the segment was thought to be connected to the hydrolytic activity of the endoglycoceramidase (Sakaguchi et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 1999, 260: 89-93).

The term “nucleophilic residue” or “nucleophilic motif” refers to the carboxylate amino acid residue within the (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Asp/Glu)-Phe/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) motif (SEQ ID NO:46) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. The nucleophilic residue can be a glutamate or an aspartate, usually a glutamate. A nucleophilic glutamic acid residue is located, for example, at position 351 in Rhodococcus sp. M-777; position 343 in Rhodococcus sp. C9; position 342 in Propionibacterium acnes EGCa; position 360 in Propionibacterium acnes EGCb; position 361 in Cyanea nozakii; and at position 349 in Hydra magnipapillata; at position 354 in Dictyostelium; at position 351 in Schistosoma; at position 461 in Leptospira interrogans; at position 391 of Streptomyces; and at position 498 of Neurosporassa (see, FIG. 15).

The recombinant fusion proteins of the invention can be constructed and expressed as a fusion protein with a molecular “purification tag” at one end, which facilitates purification of the protein. Such tags can also be used for immobilization of a protein of interest during the glycolipid synthesis reaction. Exemplified purification tags include MalE, 6 or more sequential histidine residues, cellulose binding protein, maltose binding protein (malE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), lactoferrin, and Sumo fusion protein cleavable sequences (commercially available from LifeSensors, Malvern, Pa. and EMD Biosciences). Suitable tags include “epitope tags,” which are a protein sequence that is specifically recognized by an antibody. Epitope tags are generally incorporated into fusion proteins to enable the use of a readily available antibody to unambiguously detect or isolate the fusion protein. A “FLAG tag” is a commonly used epitope tag, specifically recognized by a monoclonal anti-FLAG antibody, consisting of the sequence AspTyrLysAspAspAsp AspLys or a substantially identical variant thereof. Other epitope tags that can be used in the invention include, e.g., myc tag, AU1, AU5, DDDDK (EC5), E tag, E2 tag, Glu-Glu, a 6 residue peptide, EYMPME, derived from the Polyoma middle T protein, HA, HSV, IRS, KT3, S tage, S1 tag, T7 tag, V5 tag, VSV-G, β-galactosidase, Gal4, green fluorescent protein (GFP), luciferase, protein C, protein A, cellulose binding protein, GST (glutathione S-transferase), a step-tag, Nus-S, PPI-ases, Pfg 27, calmodulin binding protein, dsb A and fragments thereof, and granzyme B. Epitope peptides and antibodies that bind specifically to epitope sequences are commercially available from, e.g., Covance Research Products, Inc.; Bethyl Laboratories, Inc.; Abcam Ltd.; and Novus Biologicals, Inc.

The term “nucleic acid” or “polynucleotide” refers to deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) or ribonucleic acids (RNA) and polymers thereof in either single- or double-stranded form. Unless specifically limited, the term encompasses nucleic acids containing known analogues of natural nucleotides that have similar binding properties as the reference nucleic acid and are metabolized in a manner similar to naturally occurring nucleotides. Unless otherwise indicated, a particular nucleic acid sequence also implicitly encompasses conservatively modified variants thereof (e.g., degenerate codon substitutions), alleles, orthologs, SNPs, and complementary sequences as well as the sequence explicitly indicated. Specifically, degenerate codon substitutions may be achieved by generating sequences in which the third position of one or more selected (or all) codons is substituted with mixed-base and/or deoxyinosine residues (Batzer et al., Nucleic Acid Res. 19:5081 (1991); Ohtsuka et al., J. Biol. Chem. 260:2605-2608 (1985); and Rossolini et al., Mol. Cell. Probes 8:91-98 (1994)). The term nucleic acid is used interchangeably with gene, cDNA, and mRNA encoded by a gene.

The term “gene” means the segment of DNA involved in producing a polypeptide chain. It may include regions preceding and following the coding region deader and trailer) as well as intervening sequences (introns) between individual coding segments (exons).

The term “operably linked” refers to functional linkage between a nucleic acid expression control sequence (such as a promoter, signal sequence, or array of transcription factor binding sites) and a second nucleic acid sequence, wherein the expression control sequence affects transcription and/or translation of the nucleic acid corresponding to the second sequence.

A “recombinant expression cassette” or simply an “expression cassette” is a nucleic acid construct, generated recombinantly or synthetically, with nucleic acid elements that are capable of affecting expression of a structural gene in hosts compatible with such sequences. Expression cassettes include at least promoters and optionally, transcription termination signals. Typically, the recombinant expression cassette includes a nucleic acid to be transcribed (e.g., a nucleic acid encoding a desired polypeptide), and a promoter. Additional factors necessary or helpful in effecting expression may also be used as described herein. For example, an expression cassette can also include nucleotide sequences that encode a signal sequence that directs secretion of an expressed protein from the host cell. Transcription termination signals, enhancers, and other nucleic acid sequences that influence gene expression, can also be included in an expression cassette.

The term “amino acid” refers to naturally occurring and synthetic amino acids, as well as amino acid analogs and amino acid mimetics that function in a manner similar to the naturally occurring amino acids. Naturally occurring amino acids are those encoded by the genetic code, as well as those amino acids that are later modified, e.g., hydroxyproline, γ-carboxyglutamate, and O-phosphoserine.

“Amino acid analogs” refers to compounds that have the same basic chemical structure as a naturally occurring amino acid, i.e., an a carbon that is bound to a hydrogen, a carboxyl group, an amino group, and an R group, e.g., homoserine, norleucine, methionine sulfoxide, methionine methyl sulfonium. Such analogs have modified R groups (e.g., norleucine) or modified peptide backbones, but retain the same basic chemical structure as a naturally occurring amino acid.

“Unnatural amino acids” are not encoded by the genetic code and can, but do not necessarily have the same basic structure as a naturally occurring amino acid. Unnatural amino acids include, but are not limited to azetidinecarboxylic acid, 2-aminoadipic acid, 3-aminoadipic acid, beta-alanine, aminopropionic acid, 2-aminobutyric acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, 6-aminocaproic acid, 2-aminoheptanoic acid, 2-aminoisobutyric acid, 3-aminoisbutyric acid, 2-aminopimelic acid, tertiary-butylglycine, 2,4-diaminoisobutyric acid, desmosine, 2,2′-diaminopimelic acid, 2,3-diaminopropionic acid, N-ethylglycine, N-ethylasparagine, homoproline, hydroxylysine, allo-hydroxylysine, 3-hydroxyproline, 4-hydroxyproline, isodesmosine, allo-isoleucine, N-methylalanine, N-methylglycine, N-methylisoleucine, N-methylpentylglycine, N-methylvaline, naphthalanine, norvaline, ornithine, pentylglycine, pipecolic acid and thioproline.

“Amino acid mimetics” refers to chemical compounds that have a structure that is different from the general chemical structure of an amino acid, but that functions in a manner similar to a naturally occurring amino acid.

Amino acids may be referred to herein by either the commonly known three letter symbols or by the one-letter symbols recommended by the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission. Nucleotides, likewise, may be referred to by their commonly accepted single-letter codes.

“Conservatively modified variants” applies to both amino acid and nucleic acid sequences. With respect to particular nucleic acid sequences, “conservatively modified variants” refers to those nucleic acids that encode identical or essentially identical amino acid sequences, or where the nucleic acid does not encode an amino acid sequence, to essentially identical sequences. Because of the degeneracy of the genetic code, a large number of functionally identical nucleic acids encode any given protein. For instance, the codons GCA, GCC, GCG and GCU all encode the amino acid alanine. Thus, at every position where an alanine is specified by a codon, the codon can be altered to any of the corresponding codons described without altering the encoded polypeptide. Such nucleic acid variations are “silent variations,” which are one species of conservatively modified variations. Every nucleic acid sequence herein that encodes a polypeptide also describes every possible silent variation of the nucleic acid. One of skill will recognize that each codon in a nucleic acid (except AUG, which is ordinarily the only codon for methionine, and TGG, which is ordinarily the only codon for tryptophan) can be modified to yield a functionally identical molecule. Accordingly, each silent variation of a nucleic acid that encodes a polypeptide is implicit in each described sequence.

As to amino acid sequences, one of skill will recognize that individual substitutions, deletions or additions to a nucleic acid, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequence which alters, adds or deletes a single amino acid or a small percentage of amino acids in the encoded sequence is a “conservatively modified variant” where the alteration results in the substitution of an amino acid with a chemically similar amino acid (i.e., hydrophobic, hydrophilic, positively charged, neutral, negatively charged). Exemplified hydrophobic amino acids include valine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan. Exemplified aromatic amino acids include phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. Exemplified aliphatic amino acids include serine and threonine. Exemplified basic aminoacids include lysine, arginine and histidine. Exemplified amino acids with carboxylate side-chains include aspartate and glutamate. Exemplified amino acids with carboxamide side chains include asparagines and glutamine. Conservative substitution tables providing functionally similar amino acids are well known in the art. Such conservatively modified variants are in addition to and do not exclude polymorphic variants, interspecies homologs, and alleles of the invention.

The following eight groups each contain amino acids that are conservative substitutions for one another:

1) Alanine (A), Glycine (G);

2) Aspartic acid (D), Glutamic acid (E);

3) Asparagine (N), Glutamine (Q); 4) Arginine (R), Lysine (K); 5) Isoleucine (1), Leucine (L), Methionine (M), Valine (V); 6) Phenylalanine (F), Tyrosine (Y), Tryptophan (W); 7) Serine (S), Threonine (T); and 8) Cysteine (C), Methionine (M)

(see, e.g., Creighton, Proteins (1984)).

Amino acids may be referred to herein by either their commonly known three letter symbols or by the one-letter symbols recommended by the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission. Nucleotides, likewise, may be referred to by their commonly accepted single-letter codes.

“Polypeptide,” “peptide,” and “protein” are used interchangeably herein to refer to a polymer of amino acid residues. All three terms apply to amino acid polymers in which one or more amino acid residue is an artificial chemical mimetic of a corresponding naturally occurring amino acid, as well as to naturally occurring amino acid polymers and non-naturally occurring amino acid polymers. As used herein, the terms encompass amino acid chains of any length, including full-length proteins, wherein the amino acid residues are linked by covalent peptide bonds.

A “heterologous polynucleotide,” “heterologous nucleic acid”, or “heterologous polypeptide,” as used herein, is one that originates from a source foreign to the particular host cell, or, if from the same source, is modified from its original form. Thus, a heterologous endoglycoceramidase gene in a prokaryotic host cell includes a endoglycoceramidase gene that is endogenous to the particular host cell but has been modified. Modification of the heterologous sequence may occur, e.g., by treating the DNA with a restriction enzyme to generate a DNA fragment that is capable of being operably linked to a promoter. Techniques such as site-directed mutagenesis are also useful for modifying a heterologous sequence.

A “subsequence” refers to a sequence of nucleic acids or amino acids that comprise a part of a longer sequence of nucleic acids or amino acids (e.g., polypeptide) respectively.

The terms “identical” or percent “identity,” in the context of two or more nucleic acids or polypeptide sequences, refer to two or more sequences or subsequences that are the same or have a specified percentage of amino acid residues or nucleotides that are the same (i.e., about 60% identity, preferably 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or higher identity over a specified region, for example over a region of at least about 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000, or more nucleic acids or amino acids, up to the full length sequence, when compared and aligned for maximum correspondence over a comparison window or designated region) as measured using a BLAST or BLAST 2.0 sequence comparison algorithms with default parameters described below, or by manual alignment and visual inspection (see, e.g., NCBI web site http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST/ or the like). Such sequences are then said to be “substantially identical.” This definition also refers to, or may be applied to, the compliment of a test sequence. The definition also includes sequences that have deletions and/or additions, as well as those that have substitutions. As described below, the preferred algorithms can account for gaps and the like. Preferably, identity exists over a region that is at least about 25 amino acids or nucleotides in length, or more preferably over a region that is 50-100 amino acids or nucleotides in length.

For sequence comparison, typically one sequence acts as a reference sequence, to which test sequences are compared. When using a sequence comparison algorithm, test and reference sequences are entered into a computer, subsequence coordinates are designated, if necessary, and sequence algorithm program parameters are designated. Preferably, default program parameters can be used, or alternative parameters can be designated. The sequence comparison algorithm then calculates the percent sequence identities for the test sequences relative to the reference sequence, based on the program parameters.

A “comparison window”, as used herein, includes reference to a segment of any one of the number of contiguous positions selected from the group consisting of from 20 to 600, usually about 50 to about 200, more usually about 100 to about 150 in which a sequence may be compared to a reference sequence of the same number of contiguous positions after the two sequences are optimally aligned. Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well-known in the art. Optimal alignment of sequences for comparison can be conducted, e.g., by the local homology algorithm of Smith & Waterman, Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482 (1981), by the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman & Wunsch, J. Mol. Biol. 48:443 (1970), by the search for similarity method of Pearson & Lipman, Proc. Nat'l Acad. Sci. USA 85:2444 (1988), by computerized implementations of these algorithms (GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA, and TFASTA in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package, Genetics Computer Group, 575 Science Dr., Madison, Wis.), or by manual alignment and visual inspection (see, e.g., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (Ausubel et al., eds. 1995 supplement)).

A preferred example of algorithm that is suitable for determining percent sequence identity and sequence similarity are the BLAST and BLAST 2.0 algorithms, which are described in Altschul et al., Nuc. Acids Res. 25:3389-3402 (1977) and Altschul et al., J. Mol. Biol. 215:403-410 (1990), respectively. BLAST and BLAST 2.0 are used, with the parameters described herein, to determine percent sequence identity for the nucleic acids and proteins of the invention. Software for performing BLAST analyses is publicly available through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). This algorithm involves first identifying high scoring sequence pairs (HSPs) by identifying short words of length W in the query sequence, which either match or satisfy some positive-valued threshold score T when aligned with a word of the same length in a database sequence. T is referred to as the neighborhood word score threshold (Altschul et al., supra). These initial neighborhood word hits act as seeds for initiating searches to find longer HSPs containing them. The word hits are extended in both directions along each sequence for as far as the cumulative alignment score can be increased. Cumulative scores are calculated using, for nucleotide sequences, the parameters M (reward score for a pair of matching residues; always >0) and N (penalty score for mismatching residues; always <0). For amino acid sequences, a scoring matrix is used to calculate the cumulative score. Extension of the word hits in each direction are halted when: the cumulative alignment score falls off by the quantity X from its maximum achieved value; the cumulative score goes to zero or below, due to the accumulation of one or more negative-scoring residue alignments; or the end of either sequence is reached. The BLAST algorithm parameters W, T, and X determine the sensitivity and speed of the alignment. The BLASTN program (for nucleotide sequences) uses as defaults a wordlength (W) of 11, an expectation (E) of 10, M=5, N=−4 and a comparison of both strands. For amino acid sequences, the BLASTP program uses as defaults a wordlength of 3, and expectation (E) of 10, and the BLOSUM62 scoring matrix (see Henikoff & Henikoff, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:10915 (1989)) alignments (B) of 50, expectation (E) of 10, M=5, N=−4, and a comparison of both strands.

The phrase “stringent hybridization conditions” refers to conditions under which a nucleic acid will hybridize to its target subsequence, typically in a complex mixture of nucleic acids, but to no other sequences. Stringent conditions are sequence-dependent and will be different in different circumstances. Longer sequences hybridize specifically at higher temperatures. An extensive guide to the hybridization of nucleic acids is found in Tijssen, Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology—Hybridization with Nucleic Probes, “Overview of principles of hybridization and the strategy of nucleic acid assays” (1993). Generally, stringent conditions are selected to be about 5-10° C. lower than the thermal melting point (Tm) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength pH. The Tm is the temperature (under defined ionic strength, pH, and nucleic concentration) at which 50% of the probes complementary to the target hybridize to the target sequence at equilibrium (as the target sequences are present in excess, at Tm, 50% of the probes are occupied at equilibrium). Stringent conditions will be those in which the salt concentration is less than about 1.0 M sodium ion, typically about 0.01 to 1.0 M sodium ion concentration (or other salts) at pH 7.0 to 8.3 and the temperature is at least about 30° C. for short nucleic acid sequences (e.g., 10 to 50 nucleotides) and at least about 60° C. for long nucleic acid sequences (e.g., greater than 50 nucleotides). Stringent conditions may also be achieved with the addition of destabilizing agents such as formamide. For selective or specific hybridization, a positive signal is at least two times background, preferably 10 times background hybridization. Exemplary “highly stringent” hybridization conditions include hybridization in a buffer comprising 50% formamide, 5×SSC, and 1% SDS at 42° C., or hybridization in a buffer comprising 5×SSC and 1% SDS at 65° C., both with a wash of 0.2×SSC and 0.1% SDS at 65° C. Exemplary “moderately stringent hybridization conditions” include a hybridization in a buffer of 40% formamide, 1 M NaCl, and 1% SDS at 37° C., and a wash in 1×SSC at 45° C.

The term “alkyl,” by itself or as part of another substituent, means, unless otherwise stated, a straight or branched chain, or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, or combination thereof, which may be fully saturated, mono- or polyunsaturated and can include mono-, di- and multivalent radicals, having the number of carbon atoms designated (i.e. C₁-C₁₀ means one to ten carbons). Examples of saturated alkyl radicals include, but are not limited to, groups such as methyl, methylene, ethyl, ethylene, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, t-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, cyclohexyl, (cyclohexyl)methyl, cyclopropylmethyl, homologs and isomers of, for example, n-pentyl, n-hexyl, n-heptyl, n-octyl, and the like. An unsaturated alkyl group is one having one or more double bonds or triple bonds. Examples of unsaturated alkyl groups include, but are not limited to, vinyl, 2-propenyl, crotyl, 2-isopentenyl, 2-(butadienyl), 2,4-pentadienyl, 3-(1,4-pentadienyl), ethynyl, 1- and 3-propynyl, 3-butynyl, and the higher homologs and isomers. The term “alkyl,” unless otherwise noted, includes “alkylene” and those derivatives of alkyl defined in more detail below, such as “heteroalkyl.” Alkyl groups, which are limited to hydrocarbon groups, are termed “homoalkyl.”

The term “heteroalkyl,” by itself or in combination with another term, means, unless otherwise stated, a stable straight or branched chain, or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, or combinations thereof, consisting of the stated number of carbon atoms and at least one heteroatom selected from the group consisting of O, N, Si and S, and wherein the nitrogen and sulfur atoms may optionally be oxidized and the nitrogen heteroatom may optionally be quaternized. The heteroatom(s) O, N and S and Si may be placed at any interior position of the heteroalkyl group or at the position at which the alkyl group is attached to the remainder of the molecule. Examples include, but are not limited to, —CH₂—CH₂—O—CH₃, —CH₂—CH₂—NH—CH₃, —CH₂—CH₂—N(CH₃)—CH₃, —CH₂—S—CH₂—CH₃, —CH₂—CH₂, —S(O)—CH₃, —CH₂—CH₂—S(O)₂—CH₃, —CH═CH—O—CH₃, —Si(CH₃)₃, —CH₂—CH═N—OCH₃, and —CH═CH—N(CH₃)—CH₃. Up to two heteroatoms may be consecutive, such as, for example, —CH₂—NH—OCH₃ and CH₂—O—Si(CH₃)₃. Similarly, the term “heteroalkylene” by itself or as part of another substituent means a divalent radical derived from heteroalkyl, as exemplified, but not limited by, —CH₂—CH₂—S—CH₂—CH₂— and —CH₂—S—CH₂—CH₂—NH—CH₂—. For heteroalkylene groups, heteroatoms can also occupy either or both of the chain termini (e.g., alkyleneoxy, alkylenedioxy, alkyleneamino, alkylenediamino, and the like). Still further, for alkylene and heteroalkylene linking groups, no orientation of the linking group is implied by the direction in which the formula of the linking group is written.

Each of the above terms (e.g., “alkyl” and “heteroalkyl”) are meant to include both substituted and unsubstituted forms of the indicated radical. Preferred substituents for each type of radical are provided below.

Substituents for the alkyl and heteroalkyl radicals (including those groups often referred to as alkylene, alkenyl, heteroalkylene, heteroalkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, and heterocycloalkenyl) can be one or more of a variety of groups selected from, but not limited to: —OR′, ═O, ═NR′, ═N—OR′, —NR′R″, —SR′, -halogen, —SiR′R″R′″, —OC(O)R′, —C(O)R′, —CO₂R′, —CONR′R″, —OC(O)NR′R″, —NR″C(O)R′, —NR′—C(O)NR″R′″, —NR″C(O)₂R′, —NR—C(NR′R″R′″)═NR″″, —NR—C(NR′R″)═NR′″, —S(O)R′, —S(O)₂R′, —S(O)₂NR′R″, —NRSO₂R′, —CN and —NO₂ in a number ranging from zero to (2m′+1), where m′ is the total number of carbon atoms in such radical. R′, R″, R′″ and R″″ each preferably independently refer to hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, e.g., aryl substituted with 1-3 halogens, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkoxy or thioalkoxy groups, or arylalkyl groups. When a compound of the invention includes more than one R group, for example, each of the R groups is independently selected as are each R′, R″, R′″ and R″″ groups when more than one of these groups is present. When R′ and R″ are attached to the same nitrogen atom, they can be combined with the nitrogen atom to form a 5-, 6-, or 7-membered ring. For example, —NR′R″ is meant to include, but not be limited to, 1-pyrrolidinyl and 4-morpholinyl. From the above discussion of substituents, one of skill in the art will understand that the term “alkyl” is meant to include groups including carbon atoms bound to groups other than hydrogen groups, such as haloalkyl (e.g., —CF₃ and —CH₂CF₃) and acyl (e.g., —C(O)CH₃, —C(O)CF₃, —C(O)CH₂OCH₃, and the like).

The term “aryl” means, unless otherwise stated, a polyunsaturated, aromatic, hydrocarbon substituent, which can be a single ring or multiple rings (preferably from 1 to 3 rings), which are fused together or linked covalently. The term “heteroaryl” refers to aryl groups (or rings) that contain from one to four heteroatoms selected from N, O, and S, wherein the nitrogen and sulfur atoms are optionally oxidized, and the nitrogen atom(s) are optionally quaternized. A heteroaryl group can be attached to the remainder of the molecule through a heteroatom. Non-limiting examples of aryl and heteroaryl groups include phenyl, 1-naphthyl, 2-naphthyl, 4-biphenyl, 1-pyrrolyl, 2-pyrrolyl, 3-pyrrolyl, 3-pyrazolyl, 2-imidazolyl, 4-imidazolyl, pyrazinyl, 2-oxazolyl, 4-oxazolyl, 2-phenyl-4-oxazolyl, 5-oxazolyl, 3-isoxazolyl, 4-isoxazolyl, 5-isoxazolyl, 2-thiazolyl, 4-thiazolyl, 5-thiazolyl, 2-furyl, 3-furyl, 2-thienyl, 3-thienyl, 2-pyridyl, 3-pyridyl, 4-pyridyl, 2-pyrimidyl, 4-pyrimidyl, 5-benzothiazolyl, purinyl, 2-benzimidazolyl, 5-indolyl, 1-isoquinolyl, 5-isoquinolyl, 2-quinoxalinyl, 5-quinoxalinyl, 3-quinolyl, and 6-quinolyl. Substituents for each of the above noted aryl and heteroaryl ring systems are selected from the group of acceptable substituents described below.

Similar to the substituents described for the alkyl radical, substituents for the aryl and heteroaryl groups are varied and are selected from, for example: halogen, OR′, —NR′R″, —SR′, -halogen, —SiR′R″R′″, OC(O)R′, —C(O)R′, CO2R′, —CONR′R″, —OC(O)NR′R″, —NR″C(O)R′, NR′C(O)NR″R′″, —NR″C(O)₂R′, NR—C(NR′R″R′″)═NR″″, NR C(NR′R″)—NR′″, —S(O)R′, —S(O)₂R′, —S(O)₂NR′R″, NRSO₂R′, —CN and —NO₂, —R′, —N₃, —CH(Ph)₂, fluoro(C₁-C₄)alkoxy, and fluoro(C₁-C₄)alkyl, in a number ranging from zero to the total number of open valences on the aromatic ring system. When a compound of the invention includes more than one R group, for example, each of the R groups is independently selected as are each R′, R″, R′″ and R″″ groups when more than one of these groups is present.

Two of the substituents on adjacent atoms of the aryl or heteroaryl ring may optionally be replaced with a substituent of the formula -T-C(O)—(CRR′)_(q)—U—, wherein T and U are independently —NR—, —O—, —CRR′— or a single bond, and q is an integer of from 0 to 40. Alternatively, two of the substituents on adjacent atoms of the aryl or heteroaryl ring may optionally be replaced with a substituent of the formula -A(CH₂)_(r)B—, wherein A and B are independently —CRR′—, —O—, —NR—, —S—, —S(O)—, S(O)₂, —S(O)₂NR′— or a single bond, and r is an integer of from 1 to 40. One of the single bonds of the new ring so formed may optionally be replaced with a double bond. Alternatively, two of the substituents on adjacent atoms of the aryl or heteroaryl ring may optionally be replaced with a substituent of the formula —(CRR′)_(s)—X—(CR″R′″)_(d)—, where s and d are independently integers of from 0 to 40, and X is —O—, —NR′—, —S—, —S(O)—, —S(O)₂—, or —S(O)₂NR′—. The substituents R, R′, R″ and R′″ are preferably independently selected from hydrogen or substituted or unsubstituted (C₁-C₄₀)alkyl.

The term “detectable label” refers to a moiety renders a molecule to which it is attached to detectable by a variety of mechanisms including chemical, enzymatic, immunological, or radiological means. Some examples of detectable labels include fluorescent molecules (such as fluorescein, rhodamine, Texas Red, and phycoerythrin) and enzyme molecules (such as horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, and β-galactosidase) that allow detection based on fluorescence emission or a product of a chemical reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. Radioactive labels involving various isotopes, such as ³H, ¹²⁵I, ³⁵S, ¹⁴C, or ³²P, can also be attached to appropriate molecules to enable detection by any suitable methods that registers radioactivity, such as autoradiography. See, e.g., Tijssen, “Practice and Theory of Enzyme Immunoassays,” Laboratory Techniques in Biochenmistry and Molecular Biology, Burdon and van Knippenberg Eds., Elsevier (1985), pp. 9-20. An introduction to labels, labeling procedures, and detection of labels can also be found in Polak and Van Noorden, Introduction to Immunocytochemistry, 2d Ed., Springer Verlag, NY (1997); and in Haugland, Handbook of Fluorescent Probes and Research Chemicals, a combined handbook and catalogue published by Molecular Probes, Inc. (1996).

The term “targeting moiety,” as used herein, refers to species that will selectively localize in a particular tissue or region of the body. The localization is mediated by specific recognition of molecular determinants, molecular size of the targeting agent or conjugate, ionic interactions, hydrophobic interactions and the like. Other mechanisms of targeting an agent to a particular tissue or region are known to those of skill in the art. Exemplary targeting moieties include antibodies, antibody fragments, transferrin, HS-glycoprotein, coagulation factors, serum proteins, β-glycoprotein, G-CSF, GM-CSF, M-CSF, EPO, saccharides, lectins, receptors, ligand for receptors, proteins such as BSA and the like. The targeting group can also be a small molecule, a term that is intended to include both non-peptides and peptides.

The symbol

, whether utilized as a bond or displayed perpendicular to a bond indicates the point at which the displayed moiety is attached to the remainder of the molecule, solid support, etc.

The term “increase,” as used herein, refers to a detectable positive change in quantity of a parameter when compared to a standard. The level of this positive change, for example, in the synthetic activity of a mutant endoglycoceramidase from its corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, is preferably at least 10% or 20%, and more preferably at least 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% or 80%, and most preferably at least 100%.

The term “reduce” or “decrease” is defined as a detectable negative change in quantity of a parameter when compared to a standard. The level of this negative change, for example, in the hydrolytic activity of a mutant endoglycoceramidase from its corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, is preferably at least 10% or 20%, and more preferably at least 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80%, 90%, and most preferably at least 100%.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 2 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 3 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 4 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 5 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention

FIG. 6 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 7 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 8 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 9 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 10 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 11 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 12 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 13 sets forth compounds that can be made using the enzyme of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic depiction of expression vector pT7-7, indicating restriction enzyme sites.

FIG. 15 illustrates an amino acid sequence alignment of wild-type endoglycoceramidases from Rhodococcus, Propionibacterium, Cyanea, and Hydra.

FIG. 16 illustrates SDS-PAGE analysis of EGCase purification. Lanes: 1) insoluble pellet fraction; 2) lysate soluble fraction; and 3) purified fraction.

FIG. 17 illustrates a reaction analysis by HPLC showing the synthesis of Lyso-GM3 after 12 hrs. Top panels: control runs. Bottom panels: reaction runs.

FIG. 18 illustrates a Michaelis-Menten curve for wild-type Rhodococcus EGC using 2,4-dinitrophenyl lactoside as the substrate.

FIG. 19 illustrates variation of kcat, Km, and kcat/Km with increasing detergent concentration for wild-type Rhodococcus EGC.

FIG. 20 illustrates pH rate profile for wild-type Rhodococcus EGC. Estimated pKa values for the catalytic glutamate residues are 3.2 and 6.5.

FIG. 21 illustrates expression in E. coli of Propionibacterium acnes wild-type EGC under a variety of conditions. In each series of three lanes, the first shows the pre-induction expression level, the second the total cell fraction after induction, and the third the soluble fraction of the cell lysate. In all cases, induction was performed at 18° C. Lanes 1-3: BL21 pLysS, 0.1 mM IPTG, M9 media. Lanes 4-6: Tuner, 0.1 mM IPTG, M9. Lanes 7-9: BL21 pLysS, 0.01 mM IPTG, Typ media. Lanes 10-12: Tuner, 0.1 mM IPTG, Typ media. Lane 14: Molecular weight standards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Introduction

Glycolipids, each consisting of a saccharide moiety and a heteroalkyl moiety, e.g., Formula Ia, Formula Ib, Formula II or Formula III, are important constituents of cellular membranes. With their diverse sugar groups extruding outward from the membrane surface, glycolipids mediate cell growth and differentiation, recognize hormones and bacterial toxins, and determine antigenicity; some are recognized as tumor-associated antigens (Hakomori, Annu. Rev. Biochem., 50:733-764, 1981; Marcus, Mol. Immunol. 21:1083-1091, 1984). The present invention discloses novel enzymes and methods for producing glycolipids having a saccharyl moiety of virtually any structure, making it possible to study these important molecules and develop therapeutics, e.g., anti-tumor agents, targeting certain glycolipids.

Mutant Endoglycoceramidases

The present invention provides mutant endoglycoceramidases, also termed “endoglycoceramide synthases,” which have an increased synthetic activity for attaching a donor substrate comprising a saccharide moiety to an acceptor substrate (an aglycone) compared to the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. The mutant endoglycoceramidases can also have a reduced hydrolytic activity towards glycolipids compared to the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. Corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidases have at least two identifiable conserved motifs, including an acid-base region (Val-X₁-(Ala/Gly)-(Tyr/Phe)-(Asp/Glu)-(Leu/Ile)-X₂-Asn-Glu-Pro-X₃-X₄-Gly or motif B or SEQ ID NO:43), and a nucleophilic region ((Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe or motif D or SEQ ID NO:45), and hydrolyze the glycoside linkage between a sugar chain and a lipid moiety in a glycolipid.

Structurally, the invention provides a mutant endoglycoceramidase having a modified nucleophilic carboxylate Glu/Asp residue, wherein the nucleophilic Glu/Asp resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:46) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, wherein the mutant endoglycoceramidase catalyzes the transfer of a saccharide moiety from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a mutant endoglycoceramidase having a modified Glu residue within the subsequence of Asn-Glu-Pro, wherein the subsequence resides within the acid-base sequence region of Val-X₁-(Ala/Gly)-(Tyr/Phe)-(Asp/Glu)-(Leu/Ile)-X₂-Asn-Glu-Pro-X₃-X₄-Gly sequence in the corresponding wild-type protein, wherein the mutant endoglycoceramidase catalyzes the transfer of a saccharide moiety from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate.

In a related aspect, the invention provides a mutant endoglycoceramidase characterized in that

-   -   i) in its native form the endoglycoceramidase comprises an amino         acid sequence that is any one of SEQ ID NOs: 2 (Rhodococcus), 4         (Rhodococcus), 6 (Propionibacterium acnes), 8 (Propionibacterium         acnes), 10 (Cyanea nozakii), 12 (Cyanea nozakii), 14 (Hydra         magnipapillata), 16 (Schistosoma japonicum), 17 (Dictyostelium         discoideum), 18 (Streptomyces avermitilis), 19 (Leptospira         interrogans), and 20 (Neurospora crassa); and     -   ii) the nucleophilic Glu/Asp residue within a         (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu/Asp-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe)         sequence of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase is         modified to an amino acid other than Glu/Asp.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a mutant endoglycoceramidase characterized in that

-   -   i) in its native form the endoglycoceramidase comprises an amino         acid sequence that is any one of SEQ ID NOs: 2 (Rhodococcus), 4         (Rhodococcus), 6 (Propionibacterium acnes), 8 (Propionibacterium         acnes), 10 (Cyanea nozakii), 12 (Cyanea nozakii), 14 (Hydra         magnipapillata), 16 (Schistosoma japonicum), 17 (Dictyostelium         discoideum), 18 (Streptomyces avermitilis), 19 (Leptospira         interrogans), and 20 (Neurospora crassa); and     -   ii) the Glu residue within the subsequence of Asn-Glu-Pro of the         acid-base sequence region         Val-X₁-(Ala/Gly)-(Tyr/Phe)-(Asp/Glu)-(Leu/Ile)-X₂-Asn-Glu-Pro-X₃-X₄-Gly         in the corresponding wild-type protein is modified to an amino         acid other than Glu.

Typically, the mutant endoglycoceramidases of the present invention comprise a modified nucleophilic Glu/Asp residue and/or a modified acid-base sequence region Glu residue within the Asn-Glu-Pro subsequence of a corresponding wild-type endoglyoceramidase. One or both of the Glu residues are deleted or replaced with another chemical moiety that retains the integral structure of the protein such that the mutant enzyme has synthetic activity. For example, one or more of the nucleophilic and/or acid-base sequence region Glu residues (i.e., in the Asn-Glu-Pro subsequence region) can be replaced with an L-amino acid residue other than Glu, an unnatural amino acid, an amino acid analog, an amino acid mimetic, and the like. Usually, the one or more Glu residues are substituted with another L-amino acid other than Glu, for example, Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

Functionally, the invention provides mutant endoglycoceramidases having a synthetic activity of coupling a glycosyl moiety and an aglycone substrate, forming a glycolipid. The mutant endoglycoceramidase can also have a reduced hydrolytic activity towards glycolipids compared to the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. The mutant endoglycoceramidases of the invention have a synthetic activity that is greater than the synthetic activity of the corresponding wild type endoglycoceramidase. Preferably, the synthetic activity is greater than its degradative (i.e., hydrolytic) activity in an assay. The assay for the synthetic activity of the mutant endoglycoceramidase comprises transferring a glycosyl moiety from a glycosyl donor substrate for said mutant to an aglycone (i.e., acceptor substrate). The synthetic activity can be readily measured in an assay designed to detect the rate of glycolipid synthesis by the mutant or the quantity of product synthesized by the enzyme.

In general, preferred mutant endoglycoceramidases of the invention are at least about 1.5-fold more synthetically active than their wild type analogues, more preferably, at least about 2-fold, at least about 5-fold, at least about 10-fold, at least about 20-fold, a least about 50-fold and more preferably still, at least about 100-fold. By more synthetically active is meant that the rate of starting material conversion by the enzyme is greater than that of the corresponding wild type enzyme and/or the amount of product produced within a selected time is greater than that produced by the corresponding wild type enzyme in a similar amount of time. A useful assay for determining enzyme synthetic activity includes transferring a glycosyl moiety from a glycosyl donor substrate for said mutant to an aglycone.

The corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase can be from a prokaryotic organism (e.g., a Rhodococcus, a Propionibacterium, a Streptomyces, or a Leptospira) or a eukaryotic organism (e.g., a Cyanea, a Hydra, a Schistosoma, a Dictyostelium, a Neurospora). For example, the corresponding wild-type or native endoglycoceramidase can be from an Actinobacteria, including a Rhodococcus, a Propionibacterium, or a Streptomyces. The corresponding wild-type or native endoglycoceramidase also can be from a Metazoan; including a Cyanea, a Hydra, or a Schistosoma, or from a Cnidaria, including a Cyanea or a Hydra. The corresponding wild-type or native endoglycoceramidase also can be from a Mycetozoa (e.g., a Dictyostelium), a Spirochete (e.g., a Leptospira), or a fungus, such as an Ascomycete (e.g., a Neurospora). In one embodiment, the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase has an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs:2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20. In one embodiment, the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase is encoded by a nucleic acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, or 15.

The corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase can be from any known endoglycoceramidase sequence or any endoglycoceramidase sequence which has yet to be determined. Additional corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidases can be identified using sequence databases and sequence alignment algorithms, for example, the publicly available GenBank database and the BLAST alignment algorithm, available on the worldwide web through ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Additional corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidases also can be found using routine techniques of hybridization and recombinant genetics. Basic texts disclosing the general methods of use in this invention include Sambrook and Russell, Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual (3rd ed. 2001); Kriegler, Gene Transfer and Expression: A Laboratory Manual (1990); and Ausubel et al., eds., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (1994). Native or wild-type endoglycoceramidases of interest include those encoded by nucleic acid sequences that hybridize under stringent hybridization conditions to one or more of SEQ ID NOs: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, or 15. Native or wild-type endoglycoceramidases of interest also include those with one or more conservatively substituted amino acids or with at least about 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% sequence identity to one or more of SEQ ID NOs:2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16-20.

Wild-type and mutant endoglycoceramidases can be further characterized by a (Met/Val/Leu)-Leu-Asp-(Met-Phe-Ala)-His-Gln-Asp-(Met/Val/Leu)-X-(Ser/Asn) motif (motif A or SEQ ID NO:42) located N-terminal to the acid-base sequence region and a C-terminal Ala-Ile-Arg-(Gln/Ser/Thr)-Val-Asp motif (motif C or SEQ ID NO:44) located C-terminal to the acid-base sequence region. For example, the (Met/Val/Leu)-Leu-Asp-(Met-Phe-Ala)-His-Gln-Asp-(Met/Val/Leu) motif is located at residues 131-140 in Rhodococcus sp. M-777; at residues 129-138 in Rhodococcus sp. C9; at residues 136-145 in Propionibacterium acnes EGCa; at residues 153-162 in Propionibacterium acnes EGCb; at residues 130-139 in Cyanea nozakii; and at residues 121-130 in Hydra magnipapillata. The Ala-Ile-Arg-(Gln/Ser/Thr)-Val-Asp motif is located at residues 259-264 in Rhodococcus sp. M-777; at residues 250-255 in Rhodococcus sp. C9; at residues 262-267 in Propionibacterium acnes EGCa; at residues 280-285 in Propionibacterium acnes EGCb; at residues 272-277 in Cyanea nozakii; and at residues 263-268 in Hydra magnipapillata.

To enhance expression of a mutant endoglycoceramidase in the soluble fraction of a bacterial host cell, the mutant endoglycoceramidases typically have had removed the native N-terminal signal peptide sequence that is expressed in the corresponding wild-type enzyme. The signal peptide sequence is typically found within the N-terminal 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 40, 45, 50 or 55 amino acid residues of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. Predicted native N-terminal signal peptide sequences for wild-type endoglycoceramidases from Rhodococcus, Propionibacter, Cyanea, Hydra, Schistosoma, Dyctyostelium, Streptomyces, and Neurospora species are shown in SEQ ID NOs:59-68.

In addition to the amino acid sequences that comprise the mutant endoglycoceramidases, the present invention also includes nucleic acid sequences encoding a mutant endoglycoceramidase, expression vectors comprising such nucleic acid sequences, and host cells that comprise such expression vectors.

Cloning and Subcloning of a Wild-Type Endoglycoceramidase Coding Sequence

A number of polynucleotide sequences encoding wild-type endoglycoceramidases, e.g., GenBank Accession No. U39554, have been determined and can be synthesized or obtained from a commercial supplier, such as Blue Heron Biotechnology (Bothell, Wash.).

The rapid progress in the studies of organism genomes has made possible a cloning approach where an organism DNA sequence database can be searched for any gene segment that has a certain percentage of sequence homology to a known nucleotide sequence, such as one encoding a previously identified endoglycoceramidase. Any DNA sequence so identified can be subsequently obtained by chemical synthesis and/or a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique such as overlap extension method. For a short sequence, completely de novo synthesis may be sufficient; whereas further isolation of full length coding sequence from a human cDNA or genomic library using a synthetic probe may be necessary to obtain a larger gene.

Alternatively, a nucleic acid sequence encoding an endoglycoceramidase can be isolated from a cDNA or genomic DNA library using standard cloning techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), where homology-based primers can often be derived from a known nucleic acid sequence encoding an endoglycoceramidase. Most commonly used techniques for this purpose are described in standard texts, e.g., Sambrook and Russell, supra.

cDNA libraries suitable for obtaining a coding sequence for a wild-type endoglycoceramidase may be commercially available or can be constructed. The general methods of isolating mRNA, making cDNA by reverse transcription, ligating cDNA into a recombinant vector, transfecting into a recombinant host for propagation, screening, and cloning are well known (see, e.g. Gubler and Hoffman, Gene, 25: 263-269 (1983); Ausubel et al., supra). Upon obtaining an amplified segment of nucleotide sequence by PCR, the segment can be further used as a probe to isolate the full length polynucleotide sequence encoding the wild-type endoglycoceramidase from the cDNA library. A general description of appropriate procedures can be found in Sambrook and Russell, supra.

A similar procedure can be followed to obtain a full length sequence encoding a wild-type endoglycoceramidase from a genomic library. Genomic libraries are commercially available or can be constructed according to various art-recognized methods. In general, to construct a genomic library, the DNA is first extracted from an organism where an endoglycoceramidase is likely found. The DNA is then either mechanically sheared or enzymatically digested to yield fragments of about 12-20 kb in length. The fragments are subsequently separated by gradient centrifugation from polynucleotide fragments of undesired sizes and are inserted in bacteriophage λ vectors. These vectors and phages are packaged in vitro. Recombinant phages are analyzed by plaque hybridization as described in Benton and Davis, Science, 196: 180-182 (1977). Colony hybridization is carried out as described by Grunstein et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 72: 3961-3965 (1975).

Based on sequence homology, degenerate oligonucleotides can be designed as primer sets and PCR can be performed under suitable conditions (see, e.g., White et al., PCR Protocols: Current Methods and Applications, 1993; Griffin and Griffin, PCR Technology, CRC Press Inc. 1994) to amplify a segment of nucleotide sequence from a cDNA or genomic library. Using the amplified segment as a probe, the full length nucleic acid encoding a wild-type endoglycoceramidase is obtained. Oligonucleotides that are not commercially available can be chemically synthesized, e.g., according to the solid phase phosphoramidite triester method first described by Beaucage & Caruthers, Tetrahedron Lett. 22: 1859-1862 (1981), using an automated synthesizer, as described in Van Devanter et. al., Nucleic Acids Res. 12: 6159-6168 (1984). Purification of oligonucleotides is performed using any art-recognized strategy, e.g., native acrylamide gel electrophoresis or anion-exchange HPLC as described in Pearson & Reanier, J. Chrom. 255: 137-149 (1983).

Upon acquiring a nucleic acid sequence encoding a wild-type endoglycoceramidase, the coding sequence can be subcloned into a vector, for instance, an expression vector, so that a recombinant endoglycoceramidase can be produced from the resulting construct. Further modifications to the wild-type endoglycoceramidase coding sequence, e.g., nucleotide substitutions, may be subsequently made to alter the characteristics of the enzyme.

Methods for Producing Mutant Endoglycoceramidases

In one aspect, the invention provides a method for generating a mutant endoglycoceramidase having a synthetic activity of coupling a saccharide and a substrate and forming glycolipids compared to the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidases. The mutant endoglycoceramidase can also have a reduced hydrolytic activity towards glycolipids compared to the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. The method includes selectively conferring synthetic activity and/or disrupting the hydrolytic activity of the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. Synthetic activity can be conferred by modifying the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue (i.e., a Glu or an Asp) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.

Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention provides a method for making a mutant endoglycoceramidase having enhanced synthetic activity in comparison to a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, the method comprising modifying the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue in a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, wherein the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:46) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.

In carrying out the methods of producing a mutant endoglycoceramidase, one or both of the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residues (i.e., a Glu or an Asp) and/or acid-base sequence region Glu residues of a corresponding endoglycoceramidase can be deleted or replaced with another chemical moiety that retains the integral structure of the protein such that the mutant enzyme has synthetic activity. For example, one or more of the nucleophilic and/or hydrolytic Glu or Asp residues can be replaced with an L-amino acid residue other than Glu or Asp, a D-amino acid residue (including a D-Glu or a D-Asp), an unnatural amino acid, an amino acid analog, an amino acid mimetic, and the like. Usually, the one or more Glu or Asp residues are substituted with another L-amino acid other than Glu or Asp, for example, Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Glu, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

Introducing Mutations into the Endoglycoceramidase Coding Sequence

Modifications altering the enzymatic activity of an endoglycoceramidase may be made in various locations within the polynucleotide coding sequence. The preferred locations for such modifications are, however, within the nucleophilic site and the acid-base sequence region of the enzyme. Conserved regions likely to contain important residues for structure or native enzymatic activity can be identified by aligning amino acid sequences of wild-type endoglycoceramidases from different organisms. Such amino acid sequences are readily available on public databases, including GenBank. Alignment of endoglycoceramidase sequences with an endoglycoceramidase sequence where the nucleophilic residue has been identified allows for the identification of the nucleophilic residue in subsequent sequences. Alternatively, the nucleophilic residue can be identified (or confirmed) via a fluorosugar labeling strategy (see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,812).

From an encoding nucleic acid sequence, the amino acid sequence of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase, e.g., SEQ ID NOs:2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16-20 can be deduced and the presence of a nucleophilic region or an acid-base region can be confirmed. Preferably, mutations are introduced into the nucleophilic region or the acid-base region. For instance, the Glu residue located in the middle of the three-amino acid segment Asn-Glu-Pro of the acid-base sequence region, can be targeted for mutation, such as deletion or substitution by another amino acid residue. In addition, the nucleophilic carboxylate (i.e., Glu or Asp) residue (bolded) in the (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu/Asp-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) motif of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase is also a target for introducing mutations to alter the enzymatic activity of an endoglycoceramidase. An artisan can accomplish the goal of mutating a target Glu residue by employing any one of the well known mutagenesis methods, which are discussed in detail below. Exemplary modifications are introduced to replace the Glu residue with another amino acid residue as depicted in SEQ ID NOs:21-25.

Modifications can be directed to the nucleic acid sequence encoding a wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase or to one or more amino acids of an endoglycoceramidase enzyme. Typically, modifications are directed to one or more nucleic acid codons encoding one or both of the nucleophilic site and the acid-base sequence region. For example, one or more nucleic acids in the codon encoding for the Glu residue in the acid-base sequence region are modified such that the codon encodes for an amino acid other than Glu, for example, Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val. In another example, one or more nucleic acids in the codon encoding for the Glu residue in the nucleophilic site are modified such that the codon encodes for an amino acid other than Glu, for example, Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val. Site-directed modifications to wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase nucleic acid sequences can be introduced using methods well-known in the art, including overlapping PCR or overlap extension PCR (see, for example, Aiyar, et al., Methods Mol Biol (1996) 57:177-91; and Pogulis, et al., Methods Mol Biol (1996) 57:167-76). Suitable PCR primers can be determined by one of skill in the art using the sequence information provided in GenBank or other sources. Services for large-scale site-directed mutagenesis of a desired sequence are commercially available, for example, from GeneArt of Toronto, Canada.

In addition, a variety of diversity-generating protocols are established and described in the art. See, e.g., Zhang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94: 4504-4509 (1997); and Stemmer, Nature, 370: 389-391 (1994). The procedures can be used separately or in combination to produce variants of a set of nucleic acids, and hence variants of encoded polypeptides. Kits for mutagenesis, library construction, and other diversity-generating methods are commercially available.

Mutational methods of generating diversity include, for example, site-directed mutagenesis (Botstein and Shortle, Science, 229: 1193-1201 (1985)), mutagenesis using uracil-containing templates (Kunkel, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 82: 488-492 (1985)), oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis (Zoller and Smith, Nucl. Acids Res., 10: 6487-6500 (1982)), phosphorothioate-modified DNA mutagenesis (Taylor et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 13: 8749-8764 and 8765-8787 (1985)), and mutagenesis using gapped duplex DNA (Kramer et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 12: 9441-9456 (1984)).

Other possible methods for generating mutations include point mismatch repair (Kramer et al., Cell, 38: 879-887 (1984)), mutagenesis using repair-deficient host strains (Carter et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 13: 4431-4443 (1985)), deletion mutagenesis (Eghtedarzadeh and Henikoff, Nucl. Acids Res., 14: 5115 (1986)), restriction-selection and restriction-purification (Wells et al., Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A, 317: 415-423 (1986)), mutagenesis by total gene synthesis (Nambiar et al., Science, 223: 1299-1301 (1984)), double-strand break repair (Mandecki, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 83: 7177-7181 (1986)), mutagenesis by polynucleotide chain termination methods (U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,408), and error-prone PCR (Leung et al., Biotechniques, 1: 11-15 (1989)).

At the completion of modification, the mutant endoglycoceramidase coding sequences can then be subcloned into an appropriate vector for recombinant production in the same manner as the wild-type genes.

Modification of Nucleic Acids for Preferred Codon Usage in a Host Organism

The polynucleotide sequence encoding an endoglycoceramidase (either wild-type or mutant) can be altered to coincide with the preferred codon usage of a particular host. For example, the preferred codon usage of one strain of bacteria can be used to derive a polynucleotide that encodes a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the invention and includes the codons favored by this strain. The frequency of preferred codon usage exhibited by a host cell can be calculated by averaging frequency of preferred codon usage in a large number of genes expressed by the host cell (e.g., calculation service is available from web site of the Kazusa DNA Research Institute, Japan). This analysis is preferably limited to genes that are highly expressed by the host cell. U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,864, for example, provides the frequency of codon usage by highly expressed genes exhibited by dicotyledonous plants and monocotyledonous plants. Services for the creation of nucleic acid sequences of preferred codon usage for optimized expression in cells of a particular desired organism (e.g. bacteria, yeast, insect, mammalian) can be commercially purchased, for example, from Blue Heron Biotechnology, Bothell, Wash.

The sequences of the cloned endoglycoceramidase genes, synthetic polynucleotides, and modified endoglycoceramidase genes can be verified using, e.g., the chain termination method for sequencing double-stranded templates as described in Wallace et al., Gene 16:21-26 (1981).

Expression of the Endoglycoceramidases

Following sequence verification, the wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention can be produced using routine techniques in the field of recombinant genetics, relying on the polynucleotide sequences encoding the polypeptide disclosed herein.

Expression Systems

To obtain high level expression of a nucleic acid encoding a wild-type or a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention, one typically subclones a polynucleotide encoding the endoglycoceramidase into an expression vector that contains a strong promoter to direct transcription, a transcription/translation terminator and a ribosome binding site for translational initiation. Suitable bacterial promoters are well known in the art and described, e.g., in Sambrook and Russell, supra, and Ausubel et al., supra. Bacterial expression systems for expressing the wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase are available in, e.g., E. coli, Bacillus sp., Salmonella, and Caulobacter. Kits for such expression systems are commercially available. Eukaryotic expression systems for mammalian cells, yeast, and insect cells are well known in the art and are also commercially available. For example, Pichia and Baculovirus expression systems can be purchased from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, Calif.). Pichia expression systems are also available for purchase from Research Corporation Technologies of Tucson, Ariz. Mammalian cells for heterologous polypeptide expression can be purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) in Manassas, Va. and expression systems are commercially available, for example, from New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass. In one embodiment, the eukaryotic expression vector is an adenoviral vector, an adeno-associated vector, or a retroviral vector.

The host cells are preferably microorganisms, such as, for example, yeast cells, bacterial cells, or filamentous fungal cells. Examples of suitable host cells include, for example, Azotobacter sp. (e.g., A. vinelandii), Pseudomonas sp., Rhizobium sp., Erwinia sp., Escherichia sp. (e.g., E. coli), Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Proteus, Salmonella, Serratia, Shigella, Rhizobia, Vitreoscilla, Paracoccus and Klebsiella sp., among many others. The cells can be of any of several genera, including Saccharomyces (e.g., S. cerevisiae), Candida (e.g., C. utilis, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, C. versatilis, C. lipolytica, C. zeylanoides, C. guilliermondii, C. albicans, and C. humicola), Pichia (e.g., P. farinosa and P. ohmeri), Torulopsis (e.g., T. candida, T. sphaerica, T. xylinus, T. famata, and T. versatilis), Debaryomyces (e.g., D. subglobosus, D. cantarellii, D. globosus, D. hansenii, and D. japonicus), Zygosaccharomyces (e.g., Z. rouxii and Z. bailii), Kluyveromyces (e.g., K. marxianus), Hansenula (e.g., H. anomala and H. jadinii), and Brettanomyces (e.g., B. lambicus and B. anomalus). Examples of useful bacteria include, but are not limited to, Escherichia, Enterobacter, Azotobacter, Erwinia, Klebsielia, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Proteus, and Salmonella. Suitable mammalian cells for expression include Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, human epithial kidney (HEK)293 cells, and NIH 3T3 cells.

A construct that includes a polynucleotide of interest operably linked to gene expression control signals that, when placed in an appropriate host cell, drive expression of the polynucleotide is termed an “expression cassette.” A typical expression cassette generally contains a promoter operably linked to the nucleic acid sequence encoding the wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase and signals required for efficient polyadenylation of the transcript, ribosome binding sites, and translation termination. Accordingly, the invention provides expression cassettes into which the nucleic acids that encode fusion proteins are incorporated for high level expression in a desired host cell. The nucleic acid sequence encoding the endoglycoceramidase is typically linked to a cleavable signal peptide sequence to promote secretion of the endoglycoceramidase by the transformed cell. Such signal peptides include, among others, the signal peptides from tissue plasminogen activator, insulin, and neuron growth factor, and juvenile hormone esterase of Heliothis virescens. Additional elements of the cassette may include enhancers and, if genomic DNA is used as the structural gene, introns with functional splice donor and acceptor sites.

Typically, the polynucleotide that encodes the wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase polypeptides is placed under the control of a promoter that is functional in the desired host cell. An extremely wide variety of promoters are well known, and can be used in the expression vectors of the invention, depending on the particular application. Ordinarily, the promoter selected depends upon the cell in which the promoter is to be active. Other expression control sequences such as ribosome binding sites, transcription termination sites and the like are also optionally included.

Expression control sequences that are suitable for use in a particular host cell are often obtained by cloning a gene that is expressed in that cell. Commonly used prokaryotic control sequences, which are defined herein to include promoters for transcription initiation, option ally with an operator, along with ribosome binding site sequences, include such commonly used promoters as the beta-lactamase (penicillinase) and lactose (lac) promoter systems (Change et al., Nature (1977) 198: 1056), the tryptophan (trp) promoter system (Goeddel et al., Nucleic Acids Res. (1980) 8: 4057), the tac promoter (DeBoer, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (1983) 80:21-25); and the lambda-derived P_(L) promoter and N-gene ribosome binding site (Shimatake et al., Nature (1981) 292: 128). The particular promoter system is not critical to the invention, any available promoter that functions in prokaryotes can be used.

For expression of endoglycoceramidase proteins in host cells other than E. coli, a promoter that functions in the particular prokaryotic species is required. Such promoters can be obtained from genes that have been cloned from the species, or heterologous promoters can be used. For example, the hybrid trp-lac promoter functions in Bacillus in addition to E. coli.

A ribosome binding site (RBS) is conveniently included in the expression cassettes of the invention. An RBS in E. coli, for example, consists of a nucleotide sequence 3-9 nucleotides in length located 3-11 nucleotides upstream of the initiation codon (Shine and Dalgarno, Nature (1975) 254: 34; Steitz, In Biological regulation and development: Gene expression (ed. R. F. Goldberger), vol. 1, p. 349, 1979, Plenum Publishing, NY).

For expression of the endoglycoceramidase proteins in yeast, convenient promoters include GAL1-10 (Johnson and Davies (1984) Mol. Cell. Biol. 4:1440-1448) ADH2 (Russell et al. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258:2674-2682), PHO5 (EMBO J. (1982) 6:675-680), and MFα (Herskowitz and Oshima (1982) in The Molecular Biology of the Yeast Saccharomyces (eds. Strathern, Jones, and Broach) Cold Spring Harbor Lab., Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., pp. 181-209). Additional suitable promoters for use in yeast include the ADH2/GAPDH hybrid promoter as described in Cousens et al., Gene 61:265-275 (1987) and the AOX1 promoter for use in Pichia strains. For filamentous fungi such as, for example, strains of the fungi Aspergillus (McKnight et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,349), examples of useful promoters include those derived from Aspergillus nidulans glycolytic genes, such as the ADH3 promoter (McKnight et al., EMBO J. 4: 2093 2099 (1985)) and the tpiA promoter. Yeast selectable markers include ADE2, HIS4, LEU2, TRP1, and ALG7, which confers resistance to tunicamycin; the neomycin phosphotransferase gene, which confers resistance to G418; and the CUP1 gene, which allows yeast to grow in the presence of copper ions. An example of a suitable terminator is the ADH3 terminator (McKnight et al.). Recombinant protein expression in yeast host cells is well known in the art. See, for example, Pichia Protocols, Higgins and Cregg, eds., 1998, Humana Press; Foreign Gene Expression in Fission Yeast: Schizosaccharomyces Pombe, Giga-Hama and Kumagai eds., 1997, Springer Verlag. Expression of heterologous proteins in Pichia strains of yeast (including Pichia pastoris, Pichia methanolica, and Pichia ciferrii) is also described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,638,735; 6,258,559; 6,194,196; 6,001,597; and 5,707,828, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

Either constitutive or regulated promoters can be used in the present invention. Regulated promoters can be advantageous because the host cells can be grown to high densities before expression of the endoglycoceramidase proteins is induced. High level expression of heterologous proteins slows cell growth in some situations. An inducible promoter is a promoter that directs expression of a gene where the level of expression is alterable by environmental or developmental factors such as, for example, temperature, pH, anaerobic or aerobic conditions, light, transcription factors and chemicals. Such promoters are referred to herein as “inducible” promoters, which allow one to control the timing of expression of the endoglycoceramidase proteins. For E. coli and other bacterial host cells, inducible promoters are known to those of skill in the art. These include, for example, the lac promoter, the bacteriophage lambda P_(L) promoter, the hybrid trp-lac promoter (Amann et al. (1983) Gene 25: 167; de Boer et al. (1983) Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 80: 21), and the bacteriophage T7 promoter (Studier et al. (1986) J. Mol. Biol.; Tabor et al. (1985) Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 82: 1074-8). These promoters and their use are discussed in Sambrook et al., supra. One preferred inducible promoter for expression in prokaryotes is a dual promoter that includes a tac promoter component linked to a promoter component obtained from a gene or genes that encode enzymes involved in galactose metabolism (e.g., a promoter from a UDP galactose 4-epimerase gene (galE)). The dual tac-gal promoter, which is described in PCT Patent Application Publ. No. WO98/20111.

The particular expression vector used to transport the genetic information into the cell is not particularly critical. Any of the conventional vectors used for expression in eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells may be used. Standard bacterial expression vectors include plasmids such as pBR322 based plasmids, pSKF, pUC based plasmids, pET based plasmids (i.e., pET23D, pET28A, commercially available from Novagen/EMD Biosciences) and fusion expression systems such as GST and LacZ. Epitope tags can also be added to recombinant proteins to provide convenient methods of isolation, e.g., c-myc. In yeast, vectors include Yeast Integrating plasmids (e.g., YIp5) and Yeast Replicating plasmids (the YRp series plasmids) and pGPD-2.

Expression vectors containing regulatory elements from eukaryotic viruses are typically used in eukaryotic expression vectors, e.g., SV40 vectors, papilloma virus vectors, and vectors derived from Epstein-Barr virus. Other exemplary eukaryotic vectors include pMSG, pAV009/A⁺, pMTO10/A⁺, pMAMeo-5, baculovirus pDSVE, and any other vector allowing expression of proteins under the direction of the SV40 early promoter, SV40 later promoter, metallothionein promoter, murine mammary tumor virus promoter, Rous sarcoma virus promoter, polyhedrin promoter, or other promoters shown effective for expression in eukaryotic cells. Expression in mammalian cells can be achieved using a variety of commonly available plasmids, including pSV2, pBC12BI, and p91023, as well as lytic virus vectors (e.g., vaccinia virus, adeno virus, and baculovirus), episomal virus vectors (e.g., bovine papillomavirus), and retroviral vectors (e.g., murine retroviruses). Mammalian host cells suitable for expression of heterologous polypeptides include, for example, Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, human epithial kidney (HEK)293 cells, and NIH 3T3 cells. Expression of heterologous polypeptides in mammalian expression systems is reviewed in Makrides, Gene Transfer and Expression in Mammalian Cells: New Comprehensive Biochemistry, 2003, Elsevier Science Ltd.

Some expression systems have markers that provide gene amplification such as thymidine kinase, hygromycin B phosphotransferase, and dihydrofolate reductase. Alternatively, high yield expression systems not involving gene amplification are also suitable, such as a baculovirus vector in insect cells, with a polynucleotide sequence encoding the mutant endoglycoceramidase under the direction of the polyhedrin promoter or other strong baculovirus promoters.

The elements that are typically included in expression vectors also include a replicon that functions in E. coli, a gene encoding antibiotic resistance to permit selection of bacteria that harbor recombinant plasmids, and unique restriction sites in nonessential regions of the plasmid to allow insertion of eukaryotic sequences. The particular antibiotic resistance gene chosen is not critical, any of the many resistance genes known in the art are suitable. The prokaryotic sequences are optionally chosen such that they do not interfere with the replication of the DNA in eukaryotic cells, if necessary.

Translational coupling may be used to enhance expression. The strategy uses a short upstream open reading frame derived from a highly expressed gene native to the translational system, which is placed downstream of the promoter, and a ribosome binding site followed after a few amino acid codons by a termination codon. Just prior to the termination codon is a second ribosome binding site, and following the termination codon is a start codon for the initiation of translation. The system dissolves secondary structure in the RNA, allowing for the efficient initiation of translation. See Squires, et. al. (1988), J. Biol. Chem. 263: 16297-16302.

The endoglycoceramidase polypeptides can be expressed intracellularly, or can be secreted from the cell. Intracellular expression often results in high yields. If necessary, the amount of soluble, active fusion protein may be increased by performing refolding procedures (see, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra.; Marston et al., Bio/Technology (1984) 2: 800; Schoner et al., Bio/Technology (1985) 3:151). In embodiments in which the endoglycoceramidase polypeptides are secreted from the cell, either into the periplasm or into the extracellular medium, the DNA sequence is linked to a cleavable signal peptide sequence. The signal sequence directs translocation of the fusion protein through the cell membrane. An example of a suitable vector for use in E. coli that contains a promoter-signal sequence unit is pTA1529, which has the E. coli phoA promoter and signal sequence (see, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra.; Oka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1985) 82: 7212; Talmadge et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1980) 77: 3988; Takahara et al., J. Biol. Chem. (1985) 260: 2670). In another embodiment, the fusion proteins are fused to a subsequence of protein A or bovine serum albumin (BSA), for example, to facilitate purification, secretion, or stability.

The endoglycoceramidase polypeptides of the invention can also be further linked to other bacterial proteins. This approach often results in high yields, because normal prokaryotic control sequences direct transcription and translation. In E. coli, lacZ fusions are often used to express heterologous polypeptides. Suitable vectors are readily available, such as the pUR, pEX, and pMR100 series (see, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra.). For certain applications, it may be desirable to cleave the non-endoglycoceramidase from the fusion protein after purification. This can be accomplished by any of several methods known in the art, including cleavage by cyanogen bromide, a protease, or by Factor X_(a) (see, e.g., Sambrook et al., supra.; Itakura et al., Science (1977) 198: 1056; Goeddel et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1979) 76:106; Nagai et al., Nature (1984) 309: 810; Sung et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Si. USA (1986) 83: 561). Cleavage sites can be engineered into the gene for the fusion protein at tme desired point of cleavage. The present invention further encompasses vectors comprising fusion proteins comprising the mutant endoglycoceramidases.

More than one recombinant protein may be expressed in a single host cell by placing multiple transcriptional cassettes in a single expression vector, or by utilizing different selectable markers for each of the expression vectors which are employed in the cloning strategy.

A suitable system for obtaining recombinant proteins from E. coli which maintains the integrity of their N-termini has been described by Miller et al. Biotechnology 7:698-704 (1989). In this system, the gene of interest is produced as a C-terminal fusion to the first 76 residues of the yeast ubiquitin gene containing a peptidase cleavage site. Cleavage at the junction of the two moieties results in production of a protein having an intact authentic N-terminal reside.

As discussed above, a person skilled in the art will recognize that various conservative substitutions can be made to any wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase or its coding sequence while still retaining the synthetic activity of the endoglycoceramidase. Moreover, modifications of a polynucleotide coding sequence may also be made to accommodate preferred codon usage in a particular expression host without altering the resulting amino acid sequence.

When recombinantly over-expressed in bacteria, wild-type and mutant endoglycoceramidases can form insoluble protein aggregates; significant amounts of the recombinant protein will reside in the insoluble fraction during subsequent purification procedures. Expression of recombinant endoglycoceramidases in insoluble inclusion bodies can be minimized by using one or more of several strategies known to those in the art, including for example, expressing from an inducible promoter (e.g., lac, T7), adding low concentrations of inducer (e.g., IPTG), using bacterial expression strains that suppress uninduced protein expression (e.g., BL21 pLysS), using a bacterial expression strain with a heightened sensitivity to the concentration of inducer (e.g., Tuner™ host cells from Novagen/EMD Biosciences, San Diego, Calif.), using a bacterial expression strain that favors disulfide formation of expressed recombinant proteins (e.g., Origami™ host cells from Novagen), using minimal media (e.g., M9), varying induction temperatures (e.g., 16-37° C.), adding a signal sequence to direct secretion into the periplasm (e.g., pelB).

Transfection Methods

Standard transfection methods are used to produce bacterial, mammalian, yeast or insect cell lines that express large quantities of the wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase, which are then purified using standard techniques (see, e.g., Colley et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264: 17619-17622 (1989); Guide to Protein Purification, in Methods in Enzymology, vol. 182 (Deutscher, ed., 1990)). Transformation of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells are performed according to standard techniques (see, e.g., Morrison, J. Bact. 132: 349-351 (1977); Clark-Curtiss & Curtiss, Methods in Enzymology 101: 347-362 (Wu et al., eds, 1983).

Any of the well known procedures for introducing foreign nucleotide sequences into host cells may be used. These include the use of calcium phosphate transfection, polybrene, protoplast fusion, electroporation, liposomes, microinjection, plasma vectors, viral vectors and any of the other well known methods for introducing cloned genomic DNA, cDNA, synthetic DNA, or other foreign genetic material into a host cell (see, e.g., Sambrook and Russell, supra). It is only necessary that the particular genetic engineering procedure used be capable of successfully introducing at least one gene into the host cell capable of expressing the wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase.

Detection of the Expression of Recombinant Endoglycoceramidases

After the expression vector is introduced into appropriate host cells, the transfected cells are cultured under conditions favoring expression of the wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase. The cells are then screened for the expression of the recombinant polypeptide, which is subsequently recovered from the culture using standard techniques (see, e.g., Scopes, Protein Purification: Principles and Practice (1982); U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,641; Ausubel et al., supra; and Sambrook and Russell, supra).

Several general methods for screening gene expression are well known among those skilled in the art. First, gene expression can be detected at the nucleic acid level. A variety of methods of specific DNA and RNA measurement using nucleic acid hybridization techniques are commonly used (e.g., Sambrook and Russell, supra). Some methods involve an electrophoretic separation (e.g., Southern blot for detecting DNA and Northern blot for detecting RNA), but detection of DNA or RNA can be carried out without electrophoresis as well (such as by dot blot). The presence of nucleic acid encoding an endoglycoceramidase in transfected cells can also be detected by PCR or RT-PCR using sequence-specific primers.

Second, gene expression can be detected at the polypeptide level. Various immunological assays are routinely used by those skilled in the art to measure the level of a gene product, particularly using polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies that react specifically with a wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention, such as a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs:21-25, (e.g., Harlow and Lane, Using Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor, 1998; Harlow and Lane, Antibodies, A Laboratory Manual, Chapter 14, Cold Spring Harbor, 1988; Kohler and Milstein, Nature, 256: 495-497 (1975)). Such techniques require antibody preparation by selecting antibodies with high specificity against the recombinant polypeptide or an antigenic portion thereof. The methods of raising polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies are well established and their descriptions can be found in the literature, see, e.g., Harlow and Lane, supra; Kohler and Milstein, Eur. J. Immunol., 6: 511-519 (1976). More detailed descriptions of preparing antibody against the mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention and conducting immunological assays detecting the mutant endoglycoceramidase are provided in a later section.

In addition, functional assays may also be performed for the detection of a recombinant endoglycoceramidase in transfected cells. Assays for detecting hydrolytic or synthetic activity of the recombinant endoglycoceramidase are generally described in a later section.

Purification of Recombinant Endoglycoceramidases Solubilization

Once the expression of a recombinant endoglycoceramidase in transfected host cells is confirmed, the host cells are then cultured in an appropriate scale for the purpose of purifying the recombinant enzyme.

When the endoglycoceramidases of the present invention are produced recombinantly by transformed bacteria in large amounts, typically after promoter induction, although expression can be constitutive, the proteins may form insoluble aggregates. There are several protocols that are suitable for purification of protein inclusion bodies. For example, purification of aggregate proteins (hereinafter referred to as inclusion bodies) typically involves the extraction, separation and/or purification of inclusion bodies by disruption of bacterial cells, e.g., by incubation in a buffer of about 100-150 μg/ml lysozyme and 0.1% Nonidet P40, a non-ionic detergent. The cell suspension can be ground using a Polytron grinder (Brinkman Instruments, Westbury, N.Y.). Alternatively, the cells can be sonicated on ice. Alternate methods of lysing bacteria are described in Ausubel et al. and Sambrook and Russell, both supra, and will be apparent to those of skill in the art.

The cell suspension is generally centrifuged and the pellet containing the inclusion bodies resuspended in buffer which does not dissolve but washes the inclusion bodies, e.g., 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.2), 1 mM EDTA, 150 mM NaCl and 2% Triton-X 100, a non-ionic detergent. It may be necessary to repeat the wash step to remove as much cellular debris as possible. The remaining pellet of inclusion bodies may be resuspended in an appropriate buffer (e.g., 20 mM sodium phosphate, pH 6.8, 150 mM NaCl). Other appropriate buffers will be apparent to those of skill in the art.

Following the washing step, the inclusion bodies are solubilized by the addition of a solvent that is both a strong hydrogen acceptor and a strong hydrogen donor (or a combination of solvents each having one of these properties). The proteins that formed the inclusion bodies may then be renatured by dilution or dialysis with a compatible buffer. Suitable solubilization solvents include, but are not limited to, urea (from about 4 M to about 8 M), formamide (at least about 80%, volume/volume basis), guanidine hydrochloride (from about 4 M to about 8 M), and detergents including N-laurylsarcosine (sarkosyl), 3-(Cyclohexylamino)-1-propanesulfonic acid (CAPS), 3-[(3-Cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS), and lauryl maltoside. Some solvents that are capable of solubilizing aggregate-forming proteins, such as SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and 70% formic acid, may be inappropriate for use in this procedure due to the possibility of irreversible denaturation of the proteins, accompanied by a lack of immunogenicity and/or activity. Although guanidine hydrochloride and similar agents are denaturants, this denaturation is not irreversible and renaturation may occur upon removal (by dialysis, for example) or dilution of the denaturant, allowing re-formation of the immunologically and/or biologically active protein of interest. After solubilization, the protein can be separated from other bacterial proteins by standard separation techniques.

Alternatively, it is possible to purify recombinant polypeptides, e.g., a mutant endoglycoceramidase, from bacterial periplasm. Where the recombinant protein is exported into the periplasm of the bacteria, the periplasmic fraction of the bacteria can be isolated by cold osmotic shock in addition to other methods known to those of skill in the art (see e.g., Ausubel et al., supra). To isolate recombinant proteins from the periplasm, the bacterial cells are centrifuged to form a pellet. The pellet is resuspended in a buffer containing 20% sucrose. To lyse the cells, the bacteria are centrifuged and the pellet is resuspended in ice-cold 5 mM MgSO₄ and kept in an ice bath for approximately 10 minutes. The cell suspension is centrifuged and the supernatant decanted and saved. The recombinant proteins present in the supernatant can be separated from the host proteins by standard separation techniques well known to those of skill in the art. Proteins exported into the periplasmic space may still form inclusion bodies.

Protein Refolding

Wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidases purified from inclusion bodies generally must be refolded after solubilization. The presence of recombinantly expressed endoglycoceramidases in inclusion bodies can be minimized and subsequent proper refolding maximized by expressing the enzymes in a bacterial strain that favors formation of disulfide bonds (e.g., Origami™ host cells from Novagen/EMD Biosciences). Alternatively, unpaired cysteines, signal peptide sequences can be removed from the recombinant sequences, for instance, using truncation and site-directed mutagenesis techniques. The presence of recombinantly expressed enzyme in inclusion bodies also can be minimized by expressing the endoglycoceramidases as a fusion protein with a maltose binding domain (see, for example, Sachdev and Chirgwin, Protein Expr Purif. (1998) 1:122-32). Enzyme ultimately purified from inclusion bodies can be solubilized and then subject to refolding buffers containing redox couples, for example reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSH), or cysteine/cystamine. Described in, PCT/US05/03856 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/542,210; 60/599,406; and 60/627,406, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety or all purposes. Protein refolding kits are commercially available, for example, from Novagen/EMD Biosciences (see also, Frankel, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1991) 88:1192-1196). Optimization of biochemical variables for proper refolding of a particular endoglycoceramidase, including protein concentration, addition of polar additives (e.g., arginine), pH, redox environment potential (the presence of redox couples), ionic strength, and species and concentration of detergent, chaotrope, divalent cations, osmolytes (e.g., polyethylene glycol (PEG)), non-polar additives (e.g., sugars) can be evaluated using a fractional factorial screen, described in Armstrong, et al., Protein Science (1999) 8:1475-1483. Kits for carrying out fractional factorial protein refolding optimization screens are commercially available, for example, from Hampton Research, Laguna Niguel, Calif.).

Purification of Protein Purification Tags

The recombinant fusion protein of the invention can be constructed and expressed as a fusion protein with a molecular “purification tag” at one end, which facilitates purification of the protein. Such tags can also be used for immobilization of a protein of interest during the glycosylation reaction. Exemplified purification tags include MalE, 6 or more sequential histidine residues, cellulose binding protein, maltose binding protein (malE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), lactoferrin, and Sumo fusion protein cleavable sequences (commercially available from LifeSensors, Malvern, Pa. and EMD Biosciences). Vectors with purification tag sequences are commercially available from, for example, Novagen/EMD Biosciences. Suitable tags include “epitope tags,” which are a protein sequence that is specifically recognized by an antibody. Epitope tags are generally incorporated into fusion proteins to enable the use of a readily available antibody to unambiguously detect or isolate the fusion protein. A “FLAG tag” is a commonly used epitope tag, specifically recognized by a monoclonal anti-FLAG antibody, consisting of the sequence AspTyrLysAspAspAsp AspLys or a substantially identical variant thereof. Other epitope tags that can be used in the invention include, e.g., myc tag, AU1, AU5, DDDDK (EC5), E tag, E2 tag, Glu-Glu, a 6 residue histidine peptide, EYMPME, derived from the Polyoma middle T protein, HA, HSV, IRS, KT3, S tag, S1 tag, T7 tag, V5 tag, VSV-G, β-galactosidase, Gal4, green fluorescent protein (GFP), luciferase, protein C, protein A, cellulose binding protein, GST (glutathione S-transferase), a step-tag, Nus-S, PPI-ases, Pfg 27, calmodulin binding protein, dsb A and fragments thereof, and granzyme B. Epitope peptides and antibodies that bind specifically to epitope sequences are commercially available from, e.g., Covance Research Products, Inc.; Bethyl Laboratories, Inc.; Abcam Ltd.; and Novus Biologicals, Inc.

Other haptens that are suitable for use as tags are known to those of skill in the art and are described, for example, in the Handbook of Fluorescent Probes and Research Chemicals (6th Ed., Molecular Probes, Inc., Eugene Oreg.). For example, dinitrophenol (DNP), digoxigenin, barbiturates (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,085), and several types of fluorophores are useful as haptens, as are derivatives of these compounds. Kits are commercially available for linking haptens and other moieties to proteins and other molecules. For example, where the hapten includes a thiol, a heterobifunctional linker such as SMCC can be used to attach the tag to lysine residues present on the capture reagent.

Standard Protein Separation Techniques For Purification

When a recombinant polypeptide, e.g., the mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention, is expressed in host cells in a soluble form, its purification can follow the standard protein purification procedures known in the art, including ammonium sulfate precipitation, affinity columns, column chromatography, gel electrophoresis and the like (see, generally, R. Scopes, Protein Purification, Springer-Verlag, N.Y. (1982), Deutscher, Methods in Enzymology Vol. 182: Guide to Protein Purification, Academic Press, Inc. N.Y. (1990)). Substantially pure compositions of at least about 70, 75, 80, 85, 90% homogeneity are preferred, and 92, 95, 98 to 99% or more homogeneity are most preferred. The purified proteins may also be used, e.g., as immunogens for antibody production.

Solubility Fractionation

Often as an initial step, and if the protein mixture is complex, an initial salt fractionation can separate many of the unwanted host cell proteins (or proteins derived from the cell culture media) from the recombinant protein of interest, e.g., a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention. The preferred salt is ammonium sulfate. Ammonium sulfate precipitates proteins by effectively reducing the amount of water in the protein mixture. Proteins then precipitate on the basis of their solubility. The more hydrophobic a protein is, the more likely it is to precipitate at lower ammonium sulfate concentrations. A typical protocol is to add saturated ammonium sulfate to a protein solution so that the resultant ammonium sulfate concentration is between 20-30%. This will precipitate the most hydrophobic proteins. The precipitate is discarded (unless the protein of interest is hydrophobic) and ammonium sulfate is added to the supernatant to a concentration known to precipitate the protein of interest. The precipitate is then solubilized in buffer and the excess salt removed if necessary, through either dialysis or diafiltration. Other methods that rely on solubility of proteins, such as cold ethanol precipitation, are well known to those of skill in the art and can be used to fractionate complex protein mixtures.

Size Differential Filtration

Based on a calculated molecular weight, a protein of greater and lesser size can be isolated using ultrafiltration through membranes of different pore sizes (for example, Amicon or Millipore membranes). As a first step, the protein mixture is ultrafiltered through a membrane with a pore size that has a lower molecular weight cut-off than the molecular weight of a protein of interest, e.g., a mutant endoglycoceramidase. The retentate of the ultrafiltration is then ultrafiltered against a membrane with a molecular cut off greater than the molecular weight of the protein of interest. The recombinant protein will pass through the membrane into the filtrate. The filtrate can then be chromatographed as described below.

Column Chromatography

The proteins of interest (such as the mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention) can also be separated from other proteins on the basis of their size, net surface charge, hydrophobicity, or affinity for ligands. In addition, antibodies raised against endoglycoceramidase can be conjugated to column matrices and the endoglycoceramidase immunopurified. When the enzymes are expressed as fusion proteins with purification tags, a column loaded with resin that specifically binds to the purification tag is used, for example, resin conjugated to nickel, cellulose, maltose, anti-lactoferrin antibodies, or glutathione. All of these methods are well known in the art.

It will be apparent to one of skill that chromatographic techniques can be performed at any scale and using equipment from many different manufacturers (e.g., Pharmacia Biotech).

Production of Antibodies Against Endoglycoceramidases and Immunoassays for Detection of Endoglycoceramidase Expression

To confirm the production of a recombinant endoglycoceramidase, immunological assays may be useful to detect in a sample the expression of the endoglycoceramidase. Immunological assays are also useful for quantifying the expression level of the recombinant enzyme.

Production of Antibodies Against Endoglycoceramidase

Methods for producing polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies that react specifically with an immunogen of interest are known to those of skill in the art (see, e.g., Coligan, Current Protocols in Immunology Wiley/Greene, N.Y., 1991; Harlow and Lane, Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual Cold Spring Harbor Press, NY, 1989; Stites et al. (eds.) Basic and Clinical Immunology (4th ed.) Lange Medical Publications, Los Altos, Calif., and references cited therein; Goding, Monoclonal Antibodies: Principles and Practice (2d ed.) Academic Press, New York, N.Y., 1986; and Kohler and Milstein Nature 256: 495-497,1975). Such techniques include antibody preparation by selection of antibodies from libraries of recombinant antibodies in phage or similar vectors (see, Huse et al., Science 246: 1275-1281, 1989; and Ward et al., Nature 341: 544-546, 1989).

In order to produce antisera containing antibodies with desired specificity, the polypeptide of interest (e.g., a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention) or an antigenic fragment thereof can be used to immunize suitable animals, e.g., mice, rabbits, or primates. A standard adjuvant, such as Freund's adjuvant, can be used in accordance with a standard immunization protocol. Alternatively, a synthetic antigenic peptide derived from that particular polypeptide can be conjugated to a carrier protein and subsequently used as an immunogen.

The animal's immune response to the immunogen preparation is monitored by taking test bleeds and determining the titer of reactivity to the antigen of interest. When appropriately high titers of antibody to the antigen are obtained, blood is collected from the animal and antisera are prepared. Further fractionation of the antisera to enrich antibodies specifically reactive to the antigen and purification of the antibodies can be performed subsequently, see, Harlow and Lane, supra, and the general descriptions of protein purification provided above.

Monoclonal antibodies are obtained using various techniques familiar to those of skill in the art. Typically, spleen cells from an animal immunized with a desired antigen are immortalized, commonly by fusion with a myeloma cell (see, Kohler and Milstein, Eur. J. Immunol. 6:511-519, 1976). Alternative methods of immortalization include, e.g., transformation with Epstein Barr Virus, oncogenes, or retroviruses, or other methods well known in the art. Colonies arising from single immortalized cells are screened for production of antibodies of the desired specificity and affinity for the antigen, and the yield of the monoclonal antibodies produced by such cells may be enhanced by various techniques, including injection into the peritoneal cavity of a vertebrate host.

Additionally, monoclonal antibodies may also be recombinantly produced upon identification of nucleic acid sequences encoding an antibody with desired specificity or a binding fragment of such antibody by screening a human B cell cDNA library according to the general protocol outlined by Huse et al., supra. The general principles and methods of recombinant polypeptide production discussed above are applicable for antibody production by recombinant methods.

When necessary, antibodies capable of specifically recognizing a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention can be tested for their cross-reactivity against the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase and thus distinguished from the antibodies against the wild-type enzyme. For instance, antisera obtained from an animal immunized with a mutant endoglycoceramidase can be run through a column on which a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase is immobilized. The portion of the antisera that passes through the column recognizes only the mutant endoglycoceramidase and not the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase. Similarly, monoclonal antibodies against a mutant endoglycoceramidase can also be screened for their exclusivity in recognizing only the mutant but not the wild-type endoglycoceramidase.

Polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies that specifically recognize only the mutant endoglycoceramidase of the present invention but not the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase are useful for isolating the mutant enzyme from the wild-type endoglycoceramidase, for example, by incubating a sample with a mutant endoglycoceramidase-specific polyclonal or monoclonal antibody immobilized on a solid support.

Immunoassays for Detecting Endoglycoceramidase Expression

Once antibodies specific for an endoglycoceramidase of the present invention are available, the amount of the polypeptide in a sample, e.g., a cell lysate, can be measured by a variety of immunoassay methods providing qualitative and quantitative results to a skilled artisan. For a review of immunological and immunoassay procedures in general see, e.g., Stites, supra; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,366,241; 4,376,110; 4,517,288; and 4,837,168.

Labeling in Immunoassays

Immunoassays often utilize a labeling agent to specifically bind to and label the binding complex formed by the antibody and the target protein. The labeling agent may itself be one of the moieties comprising the antibody/target protein complex, or may be a third moiety, such as another antibody, that specifically binds to the antibody/target protein complex. A label may be detectable by spectroscopic, photochemical, biochemical, immunochemical, electrical, optical or chemical means. Examples include, but are not limited to, magnetic beads (e.g., Dynabeads™), fluorescent dyes (e.g. fluorescein isothiocyanate, Texas red, rhodamine, and the like), radiolabels (e.g. ³H, ¹²⁵I, ³⁵S, ¹⁴C, or ³²P), enzymes (e.g., horse radish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, and others commonly used in an ELISA), and colorimetric labels such as colloidal gold or colored glass or plastic (e.g., polystyrene, polypropylene, latex, etc.) beads.

In some cases, the labeling agent is a second antibody bearing a detectable label. Alternatively, the second antibody may lack a label, but it may, in turn, be bound by a labeled third antibody specific to antibodies of the species from which the second antibody is derived. The second antibody can be modified with a detectable moiety, such as biotin, to which a third labeled molecule can specifically bind, such as enzyme-labeled streptavidin.

Other proteins capable of specifically binding immunoglobulin constant regions, such as protein A or protein G, can also be used as the label agents. These proteins are normal constituents of the cell walls of streptococcal bacteria. They exhibit a strong non-immunogenic reactivity with immunoglobulin constant regions from a variety of species (see, generally, Kronval, et al. J. Immunol., 111: 1401-1406 (1973); and Akerstrom, et al., J. Immunol., 135: 2589-2542 (1985)).

Immunoassay Formats

Immunoassays for detecting a target protein of interest (e.g., a recombinant endoglycoceramidase) from samples may be either competitive or noncompetitive. Noncompetitive immunoassays are assays in which the amount of captured target protein is directly measured. In one preferred “sandwich” assay, for example, the antibody specific for the target protein can be bound directly to a solid substrate where the antibody is immobilized. It then captures the target protein in test samples. The antibody/target protein complex thus immobilized is then bound by a labeling agent, such as a second or third antibody bearing a label, as described above.

In competitive assays, the amount of target protein in a sample is measured indirectly by measuring the amount of an added (exogenous) target protein displaced (or competed away) from an antibody specific for the target protein by the target protein present in the sample. In a typical example of such an assay, the antibody is immobilized and the exogenous target protein is labeled. Since the amount of the exogenous target protein bound to the antibody is inversely proportional to the concentration of the target protein present in the sample, the target protein level in the sample can thus be determined based on the amount of exogenous target protein bound to the antibody and thus immobilized.

In some cases, western blot (immunoblot) analysis is used to detect and quantify the presence of a wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase in the samples. The technique generally comprises separating sample proteins by gel electrophoresis on the basis of molecular weight, transferring the separated proteins to a suitable solid support (such as a nitrocellulose filter, a nylon filter, or a derivatized nylon filter) and incubating the samples with the antibodies that specifically bind the target protein. These antibodies may be directly labeled or alternatively may be subsequently detected using labeled antibodies (e.g., labeled sheep anti-mouse antibodies) that specifically bind to the antibodies against the endoglycoceramidase.

Other assay formats include liposome immunoassays (LIA), which use liposomes designed to bind specific molecules (e.g., antibodies) and release encapsulated reagents or markers. The released chemicals are then detected according to standard techniques (see, Monroe et al., Amer. Clin. Prod. Rev., 5: 34-41 (1986)).

Methods for Synthesizing a Glycolipid Using Mutant Endoglycoceramidases

The invention also provides a method of synthesizing a glycolipid or aglycone. The method includes contacting a glycosyl donor comprising a glycosyl group, and an aglycone with a mutant endoglycoceramidase of the invention under conditions appropriate to transfer said glycosyl group to said aglycone.

In one aspect, the invention provides a method of synthesizing a glycolipid or aglycone, the method comprising, contacting a donor substrate comprising a saccharide moiety and an acceptor substrate with a mutant endoglycoceramidase having a modified nucleophilic carboxylate (i.e., Glu or Asp) residue, wherein the nucleophilic Glu/Asp resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, under conditions wherein the endoglycoceramidase catalyzes the transfer of a saccharide moiety from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate, thereby producing the glycolipid or aglycone.

In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of synthesizing a glycolipid or aglycone, the method comprising, contacting a donor substrate comprising a saccharide moiety and an acceptor substrate with a mutant endoglycoceramidase having a modified Glu residue within the subsequence of Asn-Glu-Pro, wherein the subsequence resides within the acid-base sequence region of Val-X₁-(Ala/Gly)-(Tyr/Phe)-(Asp/Glu)-(Leu/Ile)-X₂-Asn-Glu-Pro-X₃-X₄-Gly sequence in the corresponding wild-type protein, under conditions wherein the endoglycoceramidase catalyzes, the transfer of a saccharide moiety from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate, thereby producing the glycolipid or aglycone.

In carrying out the methods of glycolipid synthesis, one or both of the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue (i.e., a Glu or an Asp) and/or acid-base sequence region Glu residues of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase can be deleted or replaced with another chemical moiety that retains the integral structure of the protein such that the mutant enzyme has synthetic activity. For example, one or more of the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residues (Glu or Asp) and/or acid-base sequence region Glu residues can be replaced with an L-amino acid residue other than Glu or Asp, a D-amino acid residue (including a D-Glu or a D-Asp), an unnatural amino acid, an amino acid analog, an amino acid mimetic, and the like. Usually, the one or more carboxylate amino acid residues (Glu or Asp) are substituted with another L-amino acid other than Glu or Asp, for example, Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Glu, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu or Val.

In one embodiment, the mutant enzymes of the invention converts at least about 50% of the starting materials, based upon the limiting reagent, to a desired glycolipid, more preferably, at least about 60%, 70%, 80% or 90%. In another preferred embodiment, the conversion of the limiting reagent to glycolipid is virtually quantitative, affording a conversion that is at least about 90%, and more preferably, at least about 92%, 94%, 96%, 98% and even more preferably, at least about 99%.

In another exemplary embodiment, the glycosyl donor and the acceptor substrate (i.e., aglycone) are present in an approximately 1:1 molar ratio and the enzyme of the invention, acting catalytically, converts the two reagents to a glycolipid in at least about 50% yield, more preferably at least about 60%, 70%, or 80%. In a further exemplary embodiment, the conversion is essentially quantitative as discussed above.

In one embodiment, the synthesized glycolipid is an aglycone (non-carbohydrate alcohol (OH) or (SH)) conjugated to a non-reducing sugar and a non-glycoside.

Donor Substrates

Donor substrates for wild-type and mutant endoglycoceramidases include any activated glycosyl derivatives of anomeric configuration opposite the natural glycosidic linkage. The enzymes of the invention are used to couple α-modified or β-modified glycosyl donors, usually α-modified glycosyl donors, with glycoside acceptors. Preferred donor molecules are glycosyl fluorides, although donors with other groups which are reasonably small and which function as relatively good leaving groups can also be used. Examples of other glycosyl donor molecules include glycosyl chlorides, bromides, acetates, mesylates, propionates, pivaloates, and glycosyl molecules modified with substituted phenols. Among the α-modified or β-modified glycosyl donors, α-galactosyl, α-mannosyl, α-glucosyl, α-fucosyl, α-xylosyl, α-sialyl, α-N-acetylglucosaminyl, α-N-acetylgalactosaminyl, β-galactosyl, β-mannosyl, β-glucosyl, β-fucosyl, β-xylosyl, β-sialyl, β-N-acetylglucosaminyl and β-N-acetylgalactosaminyl are most preferred. Additional donor substrates include ganglioside head groups, for example, those listed in Table 2, below, and those depicted in FIGS. 1-13. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the donor substrate can be one or more ganglioside glycosyl head groups selected from the group consisting of GD_(1a), GD_(1α), GD_(1b), GD₂, GD₃, Gg3, Gg4, GH₁, GH₂, GH₃, GM₁, GM_(1b), GM₂, GM₃, Fuc-GM₁, GP₁, GP₂, GP₃, GQ_(1b), GQ_(1B), GQ_(1β), GQ_(1c), GQ₂, GQ₃, GT_(1a), GT_(1b), GT_(1c), GT_(1β), GT_(1c), GT₂, and GT₃. The donor molecules can be monosaccharides, or may themselves contain multiple sugar moieties (oligosaccharides). Donor substrates of use in the particular methods include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,284,494; 6,204,029; 5,952,203; and 5,716,812.

Glycosyl fluorides can be prepared from the free sugar by first acetylating the sugar and then treating it with HF/pyridine. This will generate the thermodynamically most stable anomer of the protected (acetylated) glycosyl fluoride. If the less stable anomer is desired, it may be prepared by converting the peracetylated sugar with HBr/HOAc or with HCL to generate the anomeric bromide or chloride. This intermediate is reacted with a fluoride salt such as silver fluoride to generate the glycosyl fluoride. Acetylated glycosyl fluorides may be deprotected by reaction with mild (catalytic) base in methanol (e.g., NaOMe/MeOH). In addition, glycosyl donor molecules, including many glycosyl fluorides can be purchased commercially. Thus a wide range of donor molecules are available for use in the methods of the present invention.

Acceptor Substrates

Suitable acceptor substrates include any aglycone that the mutant endoceramidases can conjugate with a saccharide moiety. For example, the mutant endoglycoceramide synthases are capable of synthesizing a glycolipid or aglycone by coupling a saccharide and a heteroalkyl substrate with a structure as shown in Formula Ia, Formula Ib, Formula II or Formula III as shown below:

In Formula Ia and Formula Ib, the symbol Z represents OH, SH, or NR⁴R^(4′). R¹ and R² are members independently selected from NHR⁴, SR⁴, OR⁴, OCOR⁴, OC(O)NHR⁴, NHC(O)OR⁴, OS(O)₂OR⁴, C(O)R⁴, NHC(O)R⁴, detectable labels, and targeting moieties. The symbols R³, R⁴ and R^(4′), R⁵, R⁶ and R⁷ each are members independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl.

In Formula II, Z¹ is a member selected from O, S, and NR⁴; R¹ and R² are members independently selected from NHR⁴, SR⁴, OR⁴, OCOR⁴, OC(O)NHR⁴, NHC(O)OR⁴, OS(O)₂OR⁴, C(O)R⁴, NHC(O)R⁴, detectable labels, and targeting moieties. The symbols R³, R⁴, R⁵, R⁶ and R⁷ each are members independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl. Formula II is representative of certain embodiments wherein the aglycone portion is conjugated to a further substrate component, for example, a leaving group or a solid support.

In certain embodiments, acceptor substrates such as those depicted in Table 1 below are used in the methods of glycolipid or aglycone synthesis employing the mutant endoglycoceramidases.

TABLE 1 Representative Acceptor Substrates For Glycosynthase Synthesis Reactions A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

In certain embodiments, the acceptor substrate is a sphingosine, a sphingosine analog or a ceramide. In certain embodiments, the acceptor substrate is one or more sphingosine analogs, including those described in co-pending patent applications PCT/US2004/006904 (which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/452,796); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/487,841; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/485,892; 10/485,195, and 60/626,678.

In general, the sphingosine analogs described in the above-referenced applications are those compounds having the formula:

wherein Z is a member selected from O, S, C(R²)₂ and NR²; X is a member selected from H, —OR³, —NR³R⁴, —SR³, and —CHR³R⁴; R¹, R², R³ and R⁴ are members independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl, —C(=M)R⁵, —C(=M)-Z¹-R⁵, —SO₂R⁵, and —SO₃; wherein M and Z¹ are members independently selected from O, NR⁶ or S; Y is a member selected from H, —OR⁷, —SR⁷, —NR⁷R⁸, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, and substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl, wherein R⁵, R⁶, R⁷ and R⁸ are members independently selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl; and R^(a), R^(b), R^(c) and R^(d) are each independently H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, substituted or unsubstituted heteroaryl, substituted or unsubstituted heterocycloalkyl.

In certain embodiments, the acceptor substrate can be one or more sphingosine analogs including D-erythro-sphingosine, D-erythro-sphinganine, L-threo-sphingosine, L-threo-dihydrosphingosine, D-erythro-phytosphingosine, or N-ocatanoyl-D-erythro-sphingosine.

Production of Glycolipids

Wild-type and mutant endoglycoceramidase polypeptides can be used to make glycolipid products in in vitro reactions mixes or by in vivo reactions, e.g. by fermentative growth of recombinant microorganisms that comprise nucleotides that encode endoglycoceramidase polypeptides.

A. In Vitro Reactions

The wild-type and mutant endoglycoceramidase polypeptides can be used to make sialylated products in in vitro reactions mixes. The in vitro reaction mixtures can include permeabilized microorganisms comprising the wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase polypeptides, partially purified endoglycoceramidase polypeptides, or purified endoglycoceramidase polypeptides; as well as donor substrates, acceptor substrates, and appropriate reaction buffers. For in vitro reactions, the recombinant wild-type or mutant endoglycoceramidase proteins, acceptor substrates, donor substrates and other reaction mixture ingredients are combined by admixture in an aqueous reaction medium. Additional glycosyltransferases can be used in combination with the endoglycoceramidase polypeptides, depending on the desired glycolipid end product. The medium generally has a pH value of about 5 to about 8.5. The selection of a medium is based on the ability of the medium to maintain pH value at the desired level. Thus, in some embodiments, the medium is buffered to a pH value of about 7.5. If a buffer is not used, the pH of the medium should be maintained at about 5 to 8.5, depending upon the particular endoglycoceramidase and other enzymes used.

Enzyme amounts or concentrations are expressed in activity units, which is a measure of the initial rate of catalysis. One activity unit catalyzes the formation of 1 μmol of product per minute at a given temperature (typically 37° C.) and pH value (typically 7.5). Thus, 10 units of an enzyme is a catalytic amount of that enzyme where 10 μmol of substrate are converted to 10 μmol of product in one minute at a temperature of 37° C. and a pH value of 7.5.

The reaction mixture may include divalent metal cations (Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺). The reaction medium may also comprise solubilizing detergents (e.g., Triton or SDS) and organic solvents such as methanol or ethanol, if necessary. The enzymes can be utilized free in solution or can be bound to a support such as a polymer. The reaction mixture is thus substantially homogeneous at the beginning, although some precipitate can form during the reaction.

The temperature at which an above process is carried out can range from just above freezing to the temperature at which the most sensitive enzyme denatures. That temperature range is preferably about 0° C. to about 45° C., and more preferably at about 20° C. to about 37° C.

The reaction mixture so formed is maintained for a period of time sufficient to obtain the desired high yield of desired glycolipid determinants. For large-scale preparations, the reaction will often be allowed to proceed for between about 0.5-240 hours, and more typically between about 1-18 hours.

Preferably, the concentrations of activating donor substrates and enzymes are selected such that glycosylation proceeds until the acceptor substrate is consumed.

Each of the enzymes is present in a catalytic amount. The catalytic amount of a particular enzyme varies according to the concentration of that enzyme's substrate as well as to reaction conditions such as temperature, time and pH value. Means for determining the catalytic amount for a given enzyme under preselected substrate concentrations and reaction conditions are well known to those of skill in the art.

B. In Vivo Reactions

The mutant endoglycoceramidase polypeptides can be used to make glycolipid products by in vivo reactions, e.g., fermentative growth of recombinant microorganisms comprising the endoglycoceramidase polypeptides. Fermentative growth of recombinant microorganisms can occur in the presence of medium that includes an acceptor substrate and a donor substrate or a precursor to a donor substrate. See, e.g., Priem et al., Glycobiology 12:235-240 (2002). The microorganism takes up the acceptor substrate and the donor substrate or the precursor to a donor substrate and the addition of the donor substrate to the acceptor substrate takes place in the living cell. The microorganism can be altered to facilitate uptake of the acceptor substrate, e.g., by expressing a sugar transport protein.

For glycosyltransferase cycles carried out in vitro, the concentrations or amounts of the various reactants used in the processes depend upon numerous factors including reaction conditions such as temperature and pH value, and the choice and amount of acceptor saccharides to be glycosylated. Because the glycosylation process permits regeneration of activating nucleotides, activated donor sugars and scavenging of produced PPi in the presence of catalytic amounts of the enzymes, the process is limited by the concentrations or amounts of the stoichiometric substrates discussed before. The upper limit for the concentrations of reactants that can be used in accordance with the method of the present invention is determined by the solubility of such reactants.

Functional Assays for the Endoglycoceramidases

In addition to immunological assays, enzymatic assays can be used for detecting the presence and/or activity of the endoglycoceramidase of the present invention. These enzymatic assays are useful to establish the distinct functional characteristics of the wild-type and mutant endoglycoceramidases of the present invention. The production of glycolipid end products can be monitored by e.g., determining that production of the desired product has occurred or by determining that a substrate such as the acceptor substrate has been depleted. Those of skill will recognize that glycolipid end products including gangliosides or glycosphingolipid analogs can be identified using techniques such as chromatography, e.g., using paper or TLC plates, or by mass spectrometry, e.g., MALDI-TOF spectrometry, or by NMR spectroscopy.

Assays for Hydrolytic Activity

To test the hydrolytic activity of an endoglycoceramidase, either the wild-type or a modified version of the enzyme, a glycolipid can be used as a substrate. Upon incubation of the substrate (e.g., lyso-GM₂, GM₂, or GM₃) with the endoglycoceramidase under appropriate conditions, assays are performed to detect the presence of hydrolytic products such as an oligosaccharide and an aglycone (e.g., C-18 ceramide), which indicates that the endoglycoceramidase is hydrolytically active. To facilitate the detection of hydrolytic products, the substrate for a hydrolytic assay may be labeled with a detectably moiety, for instance, a fluorescent or radioactive label. Sugars which release a fluorescent or chromophoric group on hydrolysis (i.e., dinitrophenyl, p-nitrophenyl, or methylumbelliferyl glycosides) can also be used to test for hydrolytic activity. A preferred assay format for detecting hydrolytic products includes various chromatographic methods, such as thin-layer chromatography (TLC).

An appropriate control is preferably included in each hydrolytic activity assay such that the activity level of a mutant endoglycoceramidase can be assessed in comparison with that of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase.

Assays for Synthetic Activity

To test the synthetic activity of an endoglycoceramidase, particularly a mutant endoglycoceramidase (or an “endoglycoceramide synthase”), an oligosaccharide and a heteroalkyl substrate, e.g., of Formula I and Formula II, can be used as substrates. Upon incubation of the two substrates with the “endoglycoceramide synthase” under appropriate conditions, assays are performed to detect the presence of glycolipid formed by reaction between the oligosaccharide and the heteroalkyl substrate, e.g., an aglycone including a ceramide or a sphingosine, which indicates that the “endoglycoceramide synthase” is synthetically active. To facilitate the detection of the synthetic process, at least one of the two substrates for the synthetic assay may be labeled with a detectably moiety, for instance, a fluorescent or radioactive label. The same assay format, such as TLC, for detecting hydrolytic products can be used for detecting synthetic products.

An appropriate control is preferably included in each assay such that the activity level of an endoglycoceramide synthase can be assessed in comparison with that of a wild-type endoglycoceramidase.

Synthesis of Glycolipids Using Mutant Endoglycoceramide Synthases

Upon identifying a mutant endoglycoceramidase that is synthetically active, this enzyme can be used for production of a large variety of glycolipids based on different combinations of heteroalkyl substrates. End products of particular interest are glycosylated aglycones, including glycosylated sphingosines, glycosylated sphingosine analogs, and glycosylated ceramides (i.e., cerebrosides and gangliosides). The methods of the invention are useful for producing any of a large number of gangliosides and related structures. Many gangliosides of interest are described in Oettgen, H. F., ed., Gangliosides and Cancer, VCH, Germany, 1989, pp. 10-15, and references cited therein. The end product can be a glycosylsphingosine, a glycosphingolipid, a cerebroside or a ganglioside. Exemplified ganglioside end products include those listed in Table 2, below. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the synthesized glycolipid can be one or more of GD_(1a), GD_(1α), GD_(1b), GD₂, GD₃, Gg3, Gg4, GH₁, GH₂, GH₃, GM₁, GM_(1b), GM₂, GM₃, Fuc-GM₁, GP₁, GP₂, GP₃, GQ_(1b), GQ_(1B), GQ_(1β), GQ_(1c), GQ₂, GQ₃, GT_(1a), GT_(1b), GT_(1c), GT_(1β), GT_(1c), GT₂, GT₃, or polysialylated lactose.

TABLE 2 Exemplified Ganglioside Formulas and Abbreviations Structure Abbreviation Neu5Ac3Gal4GlcCer GM3 GalNAc4(Neu5Ac3)Gal4GlcCer GM2 Gal3GalNAc4(Neu5Ac3)Gal4GlcCer GM1a Neu5Ac3Gal3GalNAc4Gal4GlcCer GM1b Neu5Ac8Neu5Ac3Gal4GlcCer GD3 GalNAc4(Neu5Ac8Neu5Ac3)Gal4GlcCer GD2 Neu5Ac3Gal3GalNAc4(Neu5Ac3)Gal4GlcCer GD1a Neu5Ac3Gal3(Neu5Ac6)GalNAc4Gal4GlcCer GD1α Gal3GalNAc4(Neu5Ac8Neu5Ac3)Gal4GlcCer GD1b Neu5Ac8Neu5Ac3Gal3GalNAc4(Neu5Ac3)Gal4GlcCer GT1a Neu5Ac3Gal3GalNAc4(Neu5Ac8Neu5Ac3)Gal4GlcCer GT1b Gal3GalNAc4(Neu5Ac8Neu5Ac8Neu5Ac3)Gal4GlcCer GT1c Neu5Ac8Neu5Ac3Gal3GalNAc4(Neu5Ac8Neu5c3)Gal4GlcCer GQ1b Nomenclature of Glycolipids, IUPAC-IUB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature (Recommendations 1997); Pure Appl. Chem. (1997) 69: 2475-2487; Eur. J. Biochem (1998) 257: 293-298) (see, the worldwide web at chem.qmw.ac.uk/iupac/misc/glylp.html).

Exemplified end products further include those depicted in FIGS. 1-13. Additional end product glycolipids that can be produced using the mutant endoglycoceramidases of the present invention include the glycosphingolipids, glycosylsphingosines and ganglioside derivatives disclosed in co-pending patent applications PCT/US2004/006904 (which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/452,796); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/487,841; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/485,892; 10/485,195, and 60/626,678.

Further modifications can be made to the glycolipids synthesized using the endoglycoceramide synthase of the present invention. Exemplary methods of further elaborating glycolipids produced using the present invention are set forth in WO 03/017949; PCT/US02/24574; US2004063911 (although each is broadly directed to modification of peptides with glycosyl moieties, the methods disclosed therein are equally applicable to the glycolipids and method of producing them set forth herein). Moreover, the glycolipid compositions of the invention can be subjected to glycoconjugation as disclosed in WO 03/031464 and its progeny (although each is broadly directed to modification of peptides with glycosyl moieties, the methods disclosed therein are equally applicable to the glycolipids and method of producing them set forth herein).

EXAMPLES

The following examples are provided by way of illustration only and not by way of limitation. Those of skill in the art will readily recognize a variety of non-critical parameters that could be changed or modified to yield essentially similar results.

Example I Generating Mutant Endoglycoceramidases

A synthetic endoglycoceramidase gene was produced by Blue Heron Biotechnology (EGCase1395). Subsequently the gene was subcloned into a pT7-7 expression vector (FIG. 14). Mutations at one of the nucleotides encoding Glu233 of endoglycoceramidase derived from Rhodococcus sp. M-777 (GenBank Accession No. AAB67050, SEQ ID NO:2), were introduced into the EGCase gene by a PCR-based method using five primer sets by combining the same 5′ primer with five different 3′ primers:

The 5′ primer: 5 ′Copt AATTCGATTGGATCCCATATGAGCGGAAGCG (SEQ ID NO:26) The 3′ primers: 3′Asp PstI TCGATTCTGCAGGGAGCCACCAAACGGGTCATTCATCAG (SEQ ID NO:27) 3′Gln PstI TCGATTCTGCAGGGAGCCACCAAACGGCTGATTCATCAG (SEQ ID NO:28) 3′Ala PstI-11-1 CGGTCCCTGCAGGGAGCCACCAAACGGCGCATTCATCAG (SEQ ID NO:29) 3′Gly PstI-11-1 CGGTCCCTGCAGGGAGCCACCAAACGGCCCATTCATCAG (SEQ ID NO:30) 3′Ser PstI-11-1 CGGTCCCTGCAGGGAGCCACCAAACGGCGAATTCATCAG (SEQ ID NO:31)

The PCR program used for generating mutations was essentially as follows: the template and primers were first incubated at 95° C. for 5 minutes, Vent DNA polymerase (New England Biolabs) was then added, which was followed by 30 cycles of amplification: 94° C. for 1 minute, 55° C. for 1 minute, and 72° C. for 2 minutes.

PCR products were digested with NdeI and PstI, and pT7-7 vector was digested with NdeI, EcoRI, and PstI. Following purification of the digestion products from a 0.8% TAE agarose gel, the PCR products were subcloned into pT7-7 vector via a ligation reaction. Upon completion of the ligation reaction, the ligation product was electroporated into BL21DE3 LacZ cells, which were prepared from BL21DE3 cells (William Studier, Brookhaven National Laboratories, Upton, N.Y.) by disrupting the LacZ gene with a tetracycline or kanamycin resistance gene (generated at Neose Technologies, Inc.). Colonies were screened for PCR product insert. All EGCase mutants were confirmed by sequencing.

Example II Hydrolytic Assays

An exemplary hydrolytic reaction had a volume of 50 μL, containing 20 μg of substrate (pre-dried lyso-GM2, GM2, or GM3, generated at Neose Technologies, Inc.), 25 μg of Taurodeoxycholic acid (Sigma, Cat # T-0875), 50 mM sodium acetate (pH 5.2), and 5-10 μL of crude cell lysate containing a wild-type or mutant EGCase. The hydrolytic mixture was incubated at 37° C. for 10 to 120 minutes.

Example III Synthetic Assays

An exemplary synthetic reaction had a volume of 50 μL, containing 5 mM MgCl₂, 0.5% detergent, 0.3 mM ceramide-C-18 (pre-dried), 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), and 0.36 mM 3′ sialyl lactose fluoride (3′ SLF). The detergents used in the reaction were Triton-X100 (0.5%), Taurodeoxycholic acid (25 μg), NP-40 (0.5%), Tween-80 (0.5%), 3-14 Zwittergent (0.5%), and Triton-CF54 (0.5%). The reaction times ranged from 2 to 16 h in various buffers ranging in pH from 5.2 to 8.0.

Example IV TLC Analysis

5 μL of a hydrolytic or synthetic reaction was spotted on a TLC plate. The plate was then dried with a hair dryer set on low. The plate was run in an appropriate solvent system (solvent A: chloroform/methanol at 95:5 v/v, solvent B: 1-butyl alcohol/acetic acid/H₂O at 2:1:1 v/v, solvent C: chloroform/methanol/H₂O/ammonium hydroxide at 60:40:5:3). The plate was then dried and stained with anisaldehye. The TLC plate was subsequently developed by heating on a hot plate set at three.

Example V

The following example illustrates the successful generation of a glycosynthase enzyme capable of performing the efficient glycosidic coupling between 3′-sialyllactosyl fluoride and a variety of lipid acceptors by performing selected modifications on the endoglycoceramidase II enzyme from Rhodococcus M-777 (SEQ ID NO:2).

Cloning of Exemplified Mutant Endoglycoceramidase E351S

The DNA sequence of the wild-type EGCase gene from Rhodococcus was used as a template for the design of the construct. Using an overlapping PCR strategy, an amino acid substitution of serine for glutamic acid at amino acid position 351 relative to the wild-type enzyme was engineered into the coding sequence (see, primer sequences SEQ ID NOs:32-39). The final coding sequence was also truncated at amino acid 29 relative to the wild-type enzyme in order to mimic the mature version of the enzyme that is normally generated during secretion (SEQ ID NOs:40 and 41). Restriction sites were engineered onto the ends of the coding sequence (Nde1 and Xho1, respectively) in order to ligate to the corresponding sites in frame with the six his tag from the pET28A vector (Novagen/EMD Biosciences, San Diego Calif.). This construct was confirmed to be correct by restriction and sequence analysis and then was used to transform the E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) (Novagen) using 50 mcg/ml Kanamycin selection. An individual colony was used to inoculate a culture of Maritone-50 mcg/ml Kanamycin that was incubated for 16 hrs at 37° C. A sample of culture was mixed to achieve 20% glycerol and aliquots were frozen at −80° C. and referred as stock vials.

Mutant Endoglycoceramidase (EGC) Expression and Purification

Wild-type EGC and the following EGC mutants; E351A, E351D, E351D, E351G, and E351S have been successfully expressed and purified. The expression levels for the EGC variants are quite high, therefore cell cultures of 50 ml were used to produce the enzymes.

Cells from a −80° C. freezer stock were directly inoculated into 50 ml Typ broth and were grown at 37° C. to saturation. The temperature was then lowered to 20° C. and protein production was induced by addition of IPTG to 0.1 mM (due to solubility issues, the E351G mutant was expressed at an IPTG concentration of 0.05 mM to prevent aggregation). After 8-12 hours, the cells are harvested by centrifugation and the pellet was resuspended in 2.5 ml BugBuster protein extraction reagent (Novagen). Cell lysis was allowed to proceed for 20 min, and the cell debris was then removed by centrifugation.

The cell lysate was then applied to a 1 ml Ni-NTA column (Amersham), which was then washed with two column volumes of binding buffer (20 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.0, containing 0.5 M NaCl). EGC was eluted by the stepwise addition of imidazole to a final concentration of 0.5 M (EGC elutes between 0.2 and 0.3 M imidazole). Fractions containing EGC were identified by SDS-PAGE. The purification gave a protein of >95% purity after a single step. The expression and purification of exemplified Rhodococcus EGC mutant E351S is depicted in FIG. 16.

Fractions containing EGC were pooled and the buffer was changed to 25 mM NaOAc, pH 5.0, containing 0.2% Triton X-100 using an Amicon centrifugal ultrafiltration device (MWCO=10,000 Da). At this time, the protein was concentrated to a final volume of approximately 2 ml.

Protein concentration was then assessed using the Bradford method. The purification generally yielded about 10 mg EGC (180-200 mg per liter of expression culture). The enzyme was stable in this form for at least 3 months.

Enzymatic Synthesis of Lyso-GM₁ by Mutant EGC Enzymes

Reactions were performed in 25 mM NaOAc (pH 5.0) containing 0.1-0.2% Triton X-100. A typical reaction mixture contained approximately 50 mg/ml of a fluorinated GM1 sugar donor (GM1-F), 15 mg/ml of an acceptor sphingosine, and 2.0 mg/ml of the appropriate EGC mutant in a total reaction volume of 50 μl. Under these conditions, the reaction proceeds to >90% completion within 12 hours at 37° C. based on TLC analysis. Transfer of the fluorinated GM1 sugar donor was monitored using an HPLC reverse phase method on a Chromolith RP-8e column with eluants of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in acetonitrile (ACN) to 0.1% TFA in H₂O. Exemplified results of HPLC monitoring of a glycosynthase reaction for a Rhodococcus E351S mutant is depicted in FIG. 17.

Enzymatic Synthesis of Lyso-GM₃ by Mutant EGC Enzymes

Reactions were performed in 25 mM NaOAc (pH 5.0) containing 0.2% Triton X-100. A typical reaction mixture contained approximately 10 mM 3′-sialyllactosyl fluoride (3′-SLF), 20 mM of the acceptor D-erythro-sphingosine, and 0.5 mg/ml of the appropriate EGC mutant in a total reaction volume of 100 μl. Under these conditions, the reaction proceeds to >90% completion within 12 hours at 37° C. based on TLC analysis. In addition to D-erythro-sphingosine, Table 1, above, shows the structures of other acceptor species that have been used in glycosynthase reactions with 3′-SLF.

Essentially all of the 3′-SLF was consumed in the enzymatic reaction with D-erythro-sphingosine. Thus this reaction delivered a conservative estimate of a minimum of 90% turnover with respect to 3′-SLF. Running solvent was CHCl₃/MeOH/0.2% CaCl₂ (5:4:1), with detection by orcinol-H₂SO₄ stain. Purification of the lyso-GM₃ product was achieved using a combination of normal phase and reversed phase SepPak cartridges (Waters). The identity of the product as lyso-GM₃ was supported by mass spectrometry and NMR.

Example VI Kinetic Parameters of Wild-Type Rhodococcus M-777 Endoglycoceramidase

Using 2,4-dinitrophenyl lactoside as a substrate, the Rhodococcus M-777 EGC enzyme has a Km of approximately 2 mM, and a kcat of 90 min-1 (FIG. 18). The dependence of the activity on detergent concentration was also investigated. It was found that in the absence of detergent, the rate of hydrolysis was very low. With the addition of Triton X-100 to 0.1%, the kcat/Km increased dramatically, and gradually decreased with further additions of detergent. The dependence of kcat/Km on detergent concentration leveled off at concentrations greater than 0.5%; increasing the detergent concentration caused a steady increase in both kcat and Km up to a concentration of 1% (FIG. 19 a-c). The pH dependence of the hydrolysis activity was also investigated. As expected, the maximal kcat/Km is observed around pH 5 (FIG. 20).

Example VII Expression of Wild-Type Propionibacterium acnes Endoglycoceramidase in E. coli

The expression level of P. acnes EGC enzyme was extremely high, likely exceeding 200 mg/l. However, the expressed protein exclusively formed inclusion bodies under a variety of conditions. This propensity to form inclusion bodies is also observed for the Rhodococcus enzyme, but it is possible to minimize this tendency using Tuner cells in conjunction with a low induction temperature (<20° C.) and low concentration of IPTG (0.1 mM). These tactics proved unsuccessful with the P. acnes enzyme. Furthermore, the P. acnes enzyme was found to express at a very high level even in the absence of IPTG, with inclusion bodies forming during the pre-induction growth phase.

A series of experiments was performed to try to bring at least some protein into the soluble fraction, including:

variation of induction temperature (16-37° C.) in conjunction with variation of [IPTG] (0-0.1 mM);

pre-induction growth at room temperature to lower the levels of background expression;

transformation into BL21 pLysS (to suppress background expression) with variation of conditions as described above;

expression from a lac promoter rather than the T7 system with the above variations;

heat shock of the cells prior to induction (42° C. and 60° C. for 2 min in separate experiments) to induce chaperone expression;

adding a pelB signal sequence to direct secretion into the periplasm; and

attempts were also made to resolubilize the inclusion by denaturation with either urea (8 M) or guanidinium HCL (2 M) as the chaotropic agent followed by either iterative lowering of the denaturant concentration by dialysis or removal of the denaturant by first adsorbing the protein onto a Ni-NTA column and then decreasing the denaturant concentration using a linear gradient.

Soluble P. acnes EGC was obtained by performing the growth and induction steps in M9 minimal medium using Tuner cells with induction overnight at 18° C. in the presence of 0.1 mM IPTG (essentially the same conditions used for the Rhodococcus, except with minimal media rather than rich) (FIG. 21, lane 6). In a simultaneous experiment using BL21 pLysS as the expression strain, inclusion bodies were formed, presumably due to the action of the lactose permease in increasing the internal IPTG concentration to a level where expression still proceeds at a very high rate even in minimal media. Simultaneously employing the following three tactics lowered the rate of protein production sufficiently to obtain soluble P. acnes EGC enzyme while retaining the Histag: (i) minimal media for growth and expression, (ii) a very low IPTG concentration, and (iii) expression in the lactose permease deficient Tuner cells. Under these conditions, hydrolysis activity on both 2,4-dinitrophenyl lactoside and GM3 ganglioside in the cell extract was detected.

A gene construct for an E319S mutant EGC was prepared in parallel with the wild-type sequence. This mutant enzyme catalyzed the glycosynthase reaction as well.

It is understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents, and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. 

1. A mutant endoglycoceramidase having a modified nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue, wherein the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (motif E or SEQ ID NO:46) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, wherein the mutant endoglycoceramidase catalyzes the transfer of a saccharide moiety from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate.
 2. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 1, wherein the wherein the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue is a Glu residing within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (motif D or SEQ ID NO:45).
 3. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 1, wherein the synthetic activity is increased compared to that of the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.
 4. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 1, wherein the hydrolytic activity is decreased compared to that of the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.
 5. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 2, wherein the nucleophilic Glu residue is substituted with an amino acid other than Glu.
 6. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 5, wherein the nucleophilic Glu residue is substituted with an amino acid selected from the group consisting of Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu and Val.
 7. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 1, wherein the enzyme has had its native signal peptide sequence removed.
 8. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 4, wherein the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase is selected from the group consisting of a Rhodococcus endoglycoceramidase, a Propionibacterium endoglycoceramidase, a Dictyostelium endoglycoceramidase, a Cyanea endoglycoceramidase, a Hydra endoglycoceramidase, a Streptomyces endoglycoceramidase, a Schistosoma endoglycoceramidase, a Leptospira endoglycoceramidase, and a Neurospora endoglycoceramidase.
 9. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 2, wherein the corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase comprises an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16-20.
 10. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 1, wherein the mutant endoglycoceramidase is part of a fusion protein.
 11. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 1, further comprising an amino acid tag.
 12. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 1, further comprising an N-terminus (Met/Val/Leu)-Leu-Asp-(Met-Phe-Ala)-His-Gln-Asp-(Met/Val/Leu)-X-(Ser/Asn) motif (motif A or SEQ ID NO:42) and a C-terminus Ala-Ile-Arg-(Gln/Ser/Thr)-Val-Asp motif (motif C or SEQ ID NO:44).
 13. A nucleic acid that comprises a nucleotide sequence that encodes a mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim
 1. 14. An expression vector that comprises the nucleic acid sequence of claim
 13. 15. A host cell that comprises the expression vector of claim
 14. 16. A method of producing a mutant endoglycoceramidase, the method comprising growing the host cell of claim 15, under conditions suitable for expression of the mutant endoglycoceramidase.
 17. A mutant endoglycoceramidase comprising an amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NOs:47-58.
 18. A method for making a mutant endoglycoceramidase having enhanced synthetic activity in comparison to a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, the method comprising modifying the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue in a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, wherein the nucleophilic carboxylate residue resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:46) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue is a Glu residing within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:45) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the nucleophilic Glu residue is modified by replacing the codon encoding the nucleophilic Glu residue with a codon encoding an amino acid other than Glu.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the nucleic acid codon encoding the nucleophilic Glu residue is replaced with a nucleic acid codon encoding an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu and Val.
 22. A method of synthesizing a glycolipid, the method comprising, contacting a donor substrate comprising a saccharide moiety and an acceptor substrate with a mutant endoglycoceramidase having a modified nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue, wherein the nucleophilic carboxylate residue resides within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-(Glu/Asp)-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:46) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase, under conditions wherein the endoglycoceramidase catalyzes the transfer of a saccharide moiety from a donor substrate to an acceptor substrate, thereby producing the glycolipid.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the nucleophilic carboxylate amino acid residue is a Glu residing within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence (SEQ ID NO:45) of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein the donor substrate is an α-modified glycosyl donor of anomeric configuration opposite the natural glycosidic linkage.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the donor substrate is a glycosyl fluoride.
 26. The method of claim 22, wherein the acceptor substrate is an aglycone of Formulas Ia, Ib, II or III.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the acceptor substrate is a sphingosine or a sphingosine analog.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the sphingosine is selected from the group consisting of from D-erythro-sphingosine, D-erythro-sphinganine, L-threo-sphingosine, L-threo-dihydrosphingosine, D-erythro-phytosphingosine, N-ocatanoyl-D-erythro-sphingosine.
 29. The method of claim 26, wherein the acceptor substrate is a ceramide.
 30. The method of claim 22, wherein the glycolipid is selected from the group consisting of a glycosphingolipid, a ganglioside and a cerebroside.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the glycolipid is a ganglioside selected from the group consisting of GD_(1a), GD_(1α), GD_(1b), GD₂, GD₃, Gg3, Gg4, GH₁, GH₂, GH₃, GM₁, GM_(1b), GM₂, GM₃, Fuc-GM₁, GP₁, GP₂, GP₃, GQ_(1b), GQ_(1B), GQ_(1β), GQ_(1c), GQ₂, GQ₃, GT_(1a), GT_(1b), GT_(1c), GT_(1β), GT_(1c), GT₂, GT₃, and polysialylated lactose.
 32. A reaction mixture comprising a mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 1, a donor substrate comprising a saccharide moiety and an acceptor substrate.
 33. The reaction mixture of claim 32, wherein the acceptor substrate is a ceramide, a sphingosine or a sphingosine analog.
 34. A mutant endoglycoceramidase characterized in that i) in its native form the endoglycoceramidase comprises an amino acid sequence that is any one of SEQ ID NOs: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16-20; and ii) the nucleophilic Glu residue within a (Ile/Met/Leu/Phe/Val)-(Leu/Met/Ile/Val)-(Gly/Ser/Thr)-Glu-(Phe/Thr/Met/Leu)-(Gly/Leu/Phe) sequence of a corresponding wild-type endoglycoceramidase is modified to an amino acid other than Glu.
 35. The mutant endoglycoceramidase of claim 34, wherein the nucleophilic Glu residue is modified to an amino acid selected from the group consisting of Gly, Ala, Ser, Asp, Asn, Gln, Cys, Thr, Ile, Leu and Val. 